Planet 515
by Mr Nelg
Summary: A total rewrite of the movie, the way I would do it.
1. Chapter 1

**PLANET 51.5**

**By Mr Nelg**

**AN: **_Hi one and all. I thought I'd try my hand at this. After I saw Planet 51 at the movies, my friend asked me how I could sum it up in two words. The only two words that came to mind were "Waisted Potential." I was really looking forward to this movie coming out, and as I watched it, the things that made it so appealing to me, one by one dribbled away. The supporting characters to Lem and Chuck were all 1 dimensional, sometimes irritating, and usually had little or no reason to be where they showed up. The plot seemed to Snooker-Loop into uninteresting angles, and the majority of the jokes were all aimed at those below the age of 12. It wasn't as though it was a bad movie. There were parts I really enjoyed and there were moments where you could see it was trying to be a great movie; but for every good moment, it unbalanced it's self with three ridicules moments. I really wanted to like Planet 51, honestly I did. But it just wouldn't let me. So I decided to write my own version of it, just to satisfy my disappointment and frustration._

_So, enjoy. Please, tell me what you think. Constructive criticism wanted._

* * *

**THE NEAR FUTURE...**

Far in the outer reaches of the system, out where the sun was just another star, a frozen rock of a planetoid drifted on an orbit measured in centuries. Kirelog was the outermost marker of the solar system. A ball of rock, dust and ice deposits only a couple of hundred klicks in diameter. Probes had done flybys. One had landed, but there was nothing there anyone wanted.

The lone probe squatted on what passed for an equator. Day and night were almost indistinguishable, but the probe still registered the transition as the diffuse terminator crawled over it. Thermometers plummeted from godawful to improbable levels. A patina of frost glimmered on metal surfaces: the frozen vapor kicked up by its landing that'd resettled and frozen. A glassy lens stared at the heavens filled with more stars than any planetsider would ever behold.

When the faint flares of light fell across the probe's sensors they were barely strong enough to register. The machine - slightly less intelligent than an insect - dutifully stored the information to broadcast homeward the next time the snowball rotated far enough for the dish to align. That would be in two days.

**TWO DAYS LATER...**

"Well," Professor Oglos said as he laced all six of his fingers together. "You're work here has been impressive, Mr. Korplog, and I have seen your dedication to looking after the planetarium," he then sighed, "but..."

"But?" Lem asked.

"I still don't like it." He levelled a long hard look at Lem. "I never liked it when you requested to serve out your community service here, and I bit my tongue all the way through your service. I will confess, I was glad when you had served your time, but when I heard you wanted to continue working here?"

"I know, I know," Lem said, "But working here has really opened my eyes, Professor Oglos!" Lem was careful to avoid calling the professor, 'Prof' like he'd done during his time here. He knew that the professor hated it, he considered slang a butcher of language and a sign of laziness. "Before I came here, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, but after working here, it's really opened my eyes! For the first time in my life, I've found something that I truly love..."

"Astronomy," The professor finished with an irritated sigh. "I know, you've spouted that same line over and over again for the past week, like a broken record. I don't need to hear it again."

Lem nodded. He didn't want to blow this. Not now.

"Honestly Lem, if it were up to me, you'd be out the door by now, but I have no choice." He leaned back into his chair to show the young man he was serious. "I'm short handed as it is already, and not very many people want to show an interest in the planetarium. Having some young blood could possibly add new life into this place." His face then melted into a scowl. "Also I've been forced to say yes by you're parole board."

Lem tried unsuccessfully to hide his glee. Professor Oglos pointed an accusing finger at Lem.

"You may have convinced them, Mr. Korplog, but not me!" He warned. "This is your one and only warning, Lem. If you screw up even once..." He let his voice trail off to add to the effect.

"I understand, Professor," Lem said quietly. "But I've worked to hard to screw this up. Believe me, I'm a changed man!"

"I don't," Oglos snarled. "Now, pick up your keys from the front desk and show up back here tomorrow at 6am sharp, understand!?"

"Yessir!" Lem snapped, as he quickly got up out of the chair and just as quickly left the managers office. As the door closed behind him, Lem jumped into the air with shear joy. He got the job. It was his.

He grabbed his keys and rushed out the front door where a large debilitated, and brightly coloured van was parked. Leaning against the side of the piece of junk and strumming his guitar was Lem's best friend of 4 years, Glar. Glar had grown his tentacles much longer than anyone else Lem knew, and his dress and mannerisms went over a lot of people's heads. The two of them had been social outcasts which was the primary reason the two had ended up as best friends.

"Well, dude!" Glar asked without looking up from his guitar.

"He said yes!" Lem gave his best friend of 4 years the double thumbs up.

"Whoa, righteous man!" Glar cried out as the two friends gave each other a high four.

"I swear, Glar," Lem said as he climbed into the passengers side, "I'll never understand your slang."

"It's the way of the future, man," Glar slurred as he climbed into the drivers seat. "Trust me, five years from now, it'll be the next big thing!" He turned the key but the van only chugged. Glar glared at the dash board through his long tentacles before lifting his leg up and landing an almighty blow against the control panel. He tried the key and this time, the engine turned.

"How's the new album coming along?" Lem asked.

"Great, man, great!" Glar said as he popped the van into reverse. "I've got a few label companies interested." The van stalled slightly, before accepting Glar's plea to go into first.

"Still nothing?" Lem asked. Glar didn't respond. "Hey, I need you to stop by the library, on the way, I have to pick up my little brother."

"The Eck-Man?" Glar asked. "Dude, he told me he was going to the cinema's."

"He did what!?" Lem cried out. He then slapped his face in frustration. "Arrggh, he went to see that damn movie. By the Great Rings, if mom finds out, she'll kill me!"

"Next stop, the movies!" Glar cried out, as he took the corner rather dangerously.

***

Eckle Kroplog was still munching on his popcorn as he exited the cinema's when Glar's van came to a screeching halt on the curb. He looked up, along with everyone else, and swallowed the nervous lump in his throat as he saw a rather agitated Lem climb out of the side door.

"N-now, before you say anything," Eckle stammered as Lem marched towards him, "This is not what it looks like!"

"You're supposed to be in the library, studying for your final exams!" Lem said calmly. "Not sneaking off to see Space Monsters from Where Ever!"

"What?" Eckle asked, eyeing off Lem with suspicion. "It's not like YOU haven't done this before." He then folded his arms. "And it's not Space Monsters from Where Ever, it's Humaniacs 2: Judgement Day!"

"Will you just forget about the damn movie name, Eckle, don't change the subject!" Lem sighed. "Besides, what I did in the past is no excuse for you to do in the present."

"How long are you going to keep saying that?" Eckle asked.

"Eckle, listen to me," Lem said, taking his brother by the shoulders. "Don't go down the path I did. You've got your whole future ahead of you, me? It's taken a long time to get back from where I started from."

Almost as if on cue, there was the sound of breaks being pulled. "Hello Lem," Sheriff Grug called out of his mike. Lem sighed, as he turned to face the sheriff of Glipforg, a long time acquittance.

"Hello Sheriff," Lem greeted with a smile. He had no reason to fear the man now. "I got the job, Professor Oglos said yes," he paused, "Reluctantly."

The Sheriff forced a smile. "Well, looks like I lost 5 bucks then. Deputy Khalop said you'd get it."

"But you didn't believe I would?" Lem asked, trying to sound smug.

"Lem, you practically trashed the place the first time you visited the planetarium, I really didn't believe Oglos would let you stay another minute."

"So you don't think I've changed?" Lem asked. The sheriff shrugged.

"Let's just say I believe old habits die hard, Lem," he said. He then leaned forward to give Lem a long hard look, much like Oglos had done. "I think I'll keep the sign. In case of a rainy day."

Lem grinned, as he looked up at the sky. "Sorry to disappoint you, Sheriff, but there's not a cloud in the sky."

The Sheriff replied with only a sly smile. "You know, the weatherman says we're in for a late afternoon storm." He took the hand break off. "So let's just wait and see what it brings."

"Since when has the weather man been able to predict the weather, Sheriff," Lem smirked. "Let alone the future?" The Sheriff said nothing. He just tipped his hat, and with that, he drove off.

The sign. Only Lem and the Sheriff understood that personal joke. The sheriff kept a wooden sign above the jail cell at the far end of the lock up section that read "This Cell Reserved for Lem Korplog." Lem had gotten into so much trouble as a youngster that he'd been in the lock-up so many times, the sheriff kept that cell warm for him.

Lem sighed. He'd been a trouble maker in the past. Causing pranks that weren't funny, and as he'd gotten older, he'd graduated to vandalism and petty crime. He'd been in and out of juvenile hall so many times, he practically knew the place inside out.

Lem shock his head, and straightened himself up. That was all in the past now. He'd seen the light, and was now moving on from his rebellious ways. The old Lem was history. The new Lem was going to make a difference.

Glar could see the worried look on Lem's face, so he tried to change the subject. "So, how was the movie, little guy?" He asked Eckle.

"Awesome!" Eckle cried out. "There were moments when it looked like we were gonna lose, but then some brainiac invented a scientific machine that saved the day!" He then halted his speech as he remembered something. "Oh yeah, and during the previews, they had a spoiler for Humaniacs 3!"

"Cool!" Glar fined interest.

"It was awesome! It starts off with a downed air force pilot wandering around the decimated remains of Capital City, before finally coming to rest at shattered base of the Statue of Glorp." Eckle was so caught up in his explanation that he began to imitate the actor, causing passer by's to stop and stare. "He then falls to his knees and screams, 'Humaniacs! You blew it up! Damn you all! Damn you all to the...!'"

"Annnd we need to go home, Eckle," Lem said, grabbing his little brother and dragging him towards the van.

"Lem, wait!" Eckle was tugging on his shoulder, "I need to stop off at Haglogs Comics Shop on the way back! I my latest subscription to Humaniacs comic just came in!"

"Haglogs Comics!?" Lem felt ill. "Can't you get it tomorrow?"

"I won't be in town tomorrow," Eckle answered. "Look, it's only around the corner, you don't have to go inside."

"Fine," Lem said with a sigh. He turned to Glar. "You don't mind, do you?" He asked.

"Hey man," Glar said , patting the top of Eckle's head. "Anything for the Eck-Man."

"Alright, thanks!" Eckle cried out, as he climbed into the van. "You are so cool, Glar." Lem sighed, as he climbed in after, and they drove off.

Around the corner, they came to a stop, "Next stop, Haglogs Comics," Glar said, "And I need to pull up over at the gas station, Man, 'cause the Glar mobile needs more Go-Go juice!"

"I'll wait here," Lem said as he and Eckle climbed out. They watched as Glar suddenly cut across four lanes of traffic to pull up at the gas station where the van was swamped by the gas station attendants.

Lem chuckled as he turned to Eckle. "So, just in and out, okay? I'll be waiting..." His voice trailed off as around the corner, came a rather sleek looking car. He stopped talking as he looked up.

Valgor was coming around the corner. He sighed in anger. Why oh why did he have to be here. Valgor was the richest and best looking guy in school, and had always managed to get the better of Lem. Lem had sabotaged his car once which landed him a full six months in juvenile hall. Since then, Lem had always tried to stare clear of Valgor, but the guy always managed to find him, and rub Lems nose in the dirt.

"Damn," Lem snarled. He looked across the street to Glar who was still killing up. He couldn't get across the road to him in time. He looked back up, Valgor was getting closer. "Damn!" Lem hissed again. He looked behind him, and sighed.

Only one root of escape was available in time. He grabbed Eckle by the hand, and boldly marched into Haglogs Comics shop.

"Welcome, welcome," Skiff greeted the two as they walked in through the front door. "How may I assist... You." Skiff's voice trailed off in a displeased hiss as he saw Lem walk in. "Well, I never thought I'd see the day, Lem, setting foot in MY comic shop?"

"Save it Skiff," Lem said looking him directly in the eyes. "I'm not here to fight. Not any more. Eckle just wants his comic."

Skiff drummed his fingers on the front counter in mock deep thought. "What was it you told me last time? Oh yes, it'd be a cold day in the Pit when you set one foot in this place?" He glanced down at the floor, as if looking past it into the depths of the planet below. "Well, I wonder if I can sign up for their Ice Hog-Tey team?"

Lem grunted. Did everybody have to give him such a hard time?

"Eckle, just get your comic and let's go!" He walked over to the window, and looked outside. Damn, Valgor was chatting up some hot chick from school. He was still outside.

"Here ya go little buddy," Skiff said, handing Eckle a comic book. "The latest issue in the ongoing Humaniacs war."

"Whoa!" Eckle gasped, as he flipped through it.

"Ya know," Skiff said leaning in closer, "I hear from my sources that they're going to create a spin-off series."

"Wow! Really? When? What's it about?"

"It's in the negotiation phase at the moment," Skiff said. "But there's a rumour that it's going to be set in Base 9."

So far, Lem had managed to keep tight liped, but the moment Skiff mentioned Base 9, Lem couldn't take it any more. "Oh please," he groaned. Skiff snapped up to glare at him.

"Is there something you wish to add, Mr Korplog?" He asked a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Again with the Base 9 thing, Skiff look, it's people like you who gave this town it's reputation in the first place..."

"Base 9 is real!" Skiff almost shouted back. "Aliens are real! Base 9 exists, and it's somewhere around here! Out in the desert! It's there!"

Lem sighed. He knew where this conversation was going. "Well, let's here it then," he said.

"Thank you," Skiff said with a mock bow. "As you know, the Glipfog Incident which occurred 10 years ago was a cover-up by the government! The satellite that landed here was actually an alien ship, and they've built their base around it, deep underground."

Eckle had been listening to all this with morbid fascination, something that had not escaped both Lem and Skiff. "What dose the alien ship look like?"

"A metal satellite!" Lem snapped.

"No one really knows," Skiff said, ignoring Lem. "But some say it's as small as a car, others say it's the size of a small building." Lem turned back to the window. Valgor was no where in sight. He looked left and right, to double check.

"Right, we're outta here," Lem said, grabbing Eckle by the arm, and dragging him towards the exit. "We'll leave the nut cases to their wild conspiracy theories."

"T-theories!?" Skiff nearly chocked.

"I've got more important things to believe in than big white men, Skiff," Lem snapped back as he walked out the door, allowing it to slam behind.

"Awww," Eckle whined as they exited the shop, "It was just getting to the good part."

"Eckle," Lem said, as they checked the street for traffic. "I don't want you hanging out with Skiff any more. He's a bad influence."

"Yeah, you'd know all about what's a good influence." Eckle teased. Lem felt his temper rise.

"I'm not like that any more!" He snapped, almost crushing Eckle's hand in anger. He calmed down as he could see the fear in his little brothers eyes. "Look, Eckle, Skiff's a fruit loop. It's because of people like him that no one in the whole wide world will ever take this town seriously. We've been pegged as the 'Alien Town' thanks to that stupid 'incident' that occurred 10 years ago."

"Lem," Eckle sounded serious. "What did happen?"

"A satellite fell out of orbit, that's all," Lem said, as both he and Eckle started to cross the street. "A lot of people say it was actually a top secret unmanned space capsule. The farmer who found it, thought it was an alien ship with the strange shape and all. Plus the Great War had only been over for 10 years, people were still jumpy even back then." He sighed. "But by then, the world press had jumped on the whole alien thing and within three days, we were the 'Alien Town' and we've been the Alien Town ever since then."

"Dad says it dose wonders for the tourism industry." Eckle said as they reached the other side of the road, where Glar was waiting for them.

"Dad says a lot of things," Lem ignored Eckle. "Glar, you been waiting long?"

"I saw Valgor across the street, man," Glar said, "I understand." Lem nodded, as all three climbed in, and drove off towards home.

***

"We're back!" Lem called out, as both he and Eckle walked in through the front door.

"Welcome home, sweety," Lem's mother said, greeting Eckle with a big hug. "Did you have a good study time?"

"Sure did mom," Eckle lied. "I can't wait till the tests! I'm gonna ace it, no prob!"

"That's my boy," Their father said patting Eckle on the shoulder. Lem just stood by the door, waiting to be acknowledged. Finally, both his parents looked up at him, a neutral expression on their faces. Lem held up the set of keys from the planetarium as if he were presenting them on a game show. He revived a nod of approval from his folks. "Looks like you can do something right after all," His father said without a hint of emotion.

That was it? All his hard work and this is his congratulations!?! Lem bit his tongue. He knew better than to push it. Not with his reputation.

"Well done, Lem," His mother said a slight smile on her lips.

"Well then," Lem said rubbing both his hands together. "I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me." They both nodded, as he headed upstairs, and locked his door behind him. He shuffled over to his bed, and flopped down on it with a irritated sigh. He then got up again, and punched the pillow with all his might, venting his built up rage and frustration.

Damn. It was like this all the time. Couldn't people see he'd changed!? Couldn't people see he wanted to leave the past behind? But when you've got a 4 year history of bad behaviour, it's a little difficult to prove other wise. It reminded him of something Glar had once said.

"People are always slow when adapting to change, man!" Lem smiled. Good old Glar was always there for him. Maybe that's the reason he and Lem were best friends.

He looked over at his window, the telescope sitting on its tripod, looking up at the heavens. He'd saved up and bought that with his own money, after he realised that Astronomy was going to be his future. He got up and ran a finger along it's length. About seven months ago, he broke into the planetarium with the intention of vandalising it with a gang he was trying to join.

However, the moment he entered the building he became fascinated with it. The stars, the planets. The great unknown. Of cause, it was then that he accidentally tripped an alarm, and his so called friends locked him in the building as punishment, allowing him to get caught. But he confessed, and named names. At his trail, he pleaded to do his community service at the planetarium, to make up for his errors, which the judge thought to be poetic justice.

The truth was, Lem just wanted to go see the stars again. Now, he was working there and with the school year eventually coming to a close, It wouldn't be long before he'd be able to study astronomy professionally, and finally one day...

Lem sighed, as he leaned over and looked into the lens. The glowing afternoon sky presented it's self along with the massive rings. He smiled to himself. "One day, I will see those rings up close and personal."

He frowned. There was a star in the afternoon sky. A faint one, but a star all the same. He leaned back and looked up. Nothing could be seen with the naked eye. He looked back to see it was still there. He scratched his forehead. "Now that shouldn't be there..." he muttered.

Something hit his window.

Lem looked around in confusion. He walked over slowly, before something else landed by the side of his window. He jumped slightly, before pushing the round window open. "Hey!" He cried out in anger, "What the Pit is going..." His voice trailed off. "Neera!?" He cried out in surprise.

Neera was the girl who lived next door to Lem. She'd lived there for almost six years now. She always seemed to listen to him when things got tough.

"Hey Lem," she called up at him from her side of the fence that their houses shared. "How did it go?" He proudly displayed his keys.

"Got it!" He said. She beamed at him.

"Congratulations, Lem," she cried out, clapping her hands together. "I knew you could."

"You... Knew?" Lem asked in disbelief.

She nodded. "I could tell by the way you would talk about astronomy. You've never been that passionate about anything before." She smiled in a way that made Lem feel good about himself. "That's how I knew." Lem was silent, before he leaned out the window a little.

"Uhh, Neera?" He asked.

"Yes Lem?" She replied.

"Will you like to go to the school dance with me?" Neera looked a little shocked, before she sighed with disappointment.

"I'm sorry Lem, but I've already got a date for the school dance. I'm going with Valgor."

Lem nearly threw himself out the window.

"HIM!?" He shouted. "You're going with him!?! Neera, why!?"

"Because he asked me out two days ago," Neera explained. "I, just can't turn him down."

"Then I'll do it for you," Lem said, making to turn back into his room.

"Lem, no!" Neera cried out. Lem stopped to look back down at her. "Please, Lem, just... Don't!" Lem sighed in anger, and started to close his window.

"But I'm free this weekend!" Neera called out. Lem froze, as he looked down at her, her face held a hopeful smile. Lem's smile slowly materialised and he nodded.

"Sure," he said. "Pick you up at 8?"

"Down at the bus stop," Neera said, "You know how my parents feel about you." Lem nodded.

"See you then, Neera." He watched her leave back into her house, and he gently closed the window. He jumped into the air and did a yes manoeuvre. All of the crap he'd put up with today just seemed so worth it. After all this, it was just dust in the wind.

He walked over to his cupboard, and marked the date down on his calendar. His life was going to get so much better. He paused in mid stride back to his bed. For the life of him, he felt as though he'd forgotten something. He shrugged it off, before falling backwards onto his bed to look up through his skylight with happiness. Whatever it was, it would have to wait and besides, it probably wasn't that important anyway.

Through the skylight, Lem saw a small plane flying far overhead. He got up off the bed and looked out the window. It wasn't flying towards the air port, but rather, towards the desert. He aimed the telescope at it, and grimaced. He recognised the logo on the plane as being one of those charter planes that tourists took to sight see the desert and the alien crash site.

"Good luck," Lem muttered to the sky as he headed back to his bed. "The only thing you're gonna see out there is sand, no different from the stuff you've got in your heads!"

***

The plane flew a little higher as it left the residential section of Glipfog behind. The pilot switched on his mike as the sandy desert began to replace the town grass. "This is Special Tour 1 on rendezvous to Crash Site within 6 minutes. Over."

The radio crackled to life and another voice sparked out. "Rodger that, Special Tour 1, we have your clearance. Crash Site is awaiting your viewing. Do you copy, over."

"Copy that, over and out!" The pilot turned to look up at the review mirror to see the reflection of his passengers chest and mid-section, along with the brief case nursed in his lap. The three stars on his collar stood out the most. He was curious, and tempted striking up another conversation with the general, but from the abrupt wordless response he'd revived before he thought it highly unlikely.

The plane flew on, until the pilot began to bank the plane to the left. "We've reached our destination, sir," the pilot said to his passenger. "Welcome back, General." The man responded with nothing. The plane dove as it circled around, before finally straightening out and landing on the black tarmac runway. It bounced twice before slowing down and coming to a complete stop.

There was a loud click, followed by a slow and steady hum. Then, the ground jolted and the plane began to sink into the ground. The sand was replaced by a smooth wall of of metal and lights as the plane descended into the depths of the planet.

With one last final jolt, the plane came to a standstill. The passenger door opened, and the man climbed out to be greeted by a rather fat looking Captain with tentacles on his upper lip. The Captain saluted and the gesture was returned. He then stood aside and came to attention.

"Ah-teeeen-Chun!" He shouted. Behind him in the hanger, the soldiers all came to attention.

"At ease, men," the man replied. He then stared walking down the stairs, as the Captain fell in behind. "Captain, give me an update," he demanded.

"Sir, as you already know, at zero five hundred hours today, our security alarms in the Vault were triggered by an unknown source. When a security team arrived to investigate, who ever it was had already taken what they were looking for." He paused. "Well, we've assumed it was what they were looking for."

"The machine," the General said. "And nothing else was touched?"

"No sir, the other probes were completely intact. The worse part is, there's no sign of any forced entry or exit anywhere in the whole base." He shook his head in worry. "It's probably just my imagination running wild here sir, but from what the technicians described, it was as if the seal was disrupted from the inside."

They both exited the hanger and came to a stop by a metal corridor that held a small jeep, awaiting it's guest. "Then they've finally come," the General said.

"Sir?" The General paused, half way into the jeep as he looked back at the Captain.

"Captain, let me tell you something," he said as the Captain climbed up into the seat next to him. "What I'm about to tell and show you is classified top secret." The soldier up front put the jeep in gear and they drove off down the tunnel. "At eleven hundred and twelve hours today, our tracking stations revived a single from our deep space probe on Kirelog."

"K-Kirelog!?" The Captain almost fell out of the jeep with shock. "You mean...!? we can...!?"

The General looked faintly amused. "Yes. We can. The probe was to be part of a mapping system, when it made an interesting transmission." He unbuckled his briefcase, and handed the Captain a few photos. The Captain leafed through the photos as his eyes widened.

"By the Great Rings..." he gasped.

"These photo's are forty-eight hours old, Captain." The General answered. "I want this base on high alert ASAP; plus all available units are to be mobilised. I do believe we'll be having guests very soon."

***

Kaylog watched the green glow of the radar screen at Glipforg Domestic Airport control tower, waiting for the arrival of the next plane that was due to land over 20 minutes ago. He glanced up and looked out at the thick black clouds gathering on the horizon. "Looks like rain," he muttered. He turned to his fellow technician beside him. "Has Flight 376 reported in yet?" The man turned the radio dial, and was rewarded with radio static. He shook his head.

"Nothing."

"They're late," Kaylog muttered as he turned back to the screen. "Man, I'd hate to be the pilot who has to go through that..." His rant was cut short as the screen abruptly beeped at him. "Ahh," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Finally." He waited again for the screen to register another bleep in order to confirm it's arrival. He picked up his mike and activated it. "Okay, Flight 376, this is Glipforg Domestic Tower, we now have you on radar. What's your status, over?"

His only response was static. Kaylog frowned. He thumbed the button again.

"Flight 376,this is Glipforg Domestic Tower, please respond! Over!" Nothing. "What the Pit is wrong with them," Kaylog snarled. He turned to his partner. "Do they have the proper frequency?"

"They should," the man answered. "All world wide flights were updated over two months ago."

Kaylog turned back to the screen, his frown was becoming a scowl. "I don't need this on my shift today," he snarled. "We can only try all..." His voice trailed off as the plane bleep again. His mouth fell open in shock. "No. Way." He gasped. His partner looked over at him.

"Everything okay over there?"

"Drylog, when was the last time this system was checked?" The man looked dumbfounded.

"Two days ago, how could you forget, you were there!"

Kaylog turned to face his partner. The look on his face showed fear, and surprise. "I think you'd better take a look at this."

Drylog pushed his chair over to the radar, and leaned in. The plane bleeped once more.

"By the Great Rings," his voice trailed off. "They're over ninety thousand feet up!" His mouth gaped like a fish. "T-that can't be right!"

"Before, it read one hundred thousand feet," Kaylog said. He looked back at the screen as it registered the flight at now eighty thousand feet. "They're dropping. Fast!"

Suddenly, the radar picked up another signal, and almost on cue, a voice crackled over the radio.

"Glipforg Domestic Tower, this is Flight 376, we apologise for our lateness, but we had to avoid a fierce thunder storm closing in on your location. Request landing guidance. Over." The two men gasped in shock. "Glipforg Domestic Tower, this is Flight 376, requesting landing guidance, do you read? Over!"

Drylog pointed at the second blip on the screen. "If that's Flight 376," his finger moved to the other one, now at sixty thousand feet. "What the Pit is that!?" Outside, the distant rumble of thunder echoed throughout the room.

***

The sky was growing darker. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Lem watched with interest as the storm clouds rolled in overhead. "Man, that storm just came outta nowhere," he muttered. He watched from his window as his father began to pack away the law mower. Eckle was busy trying to unfold the mower cover, while his mother hurried to get her gardening gear packed.

They didn't bother asking for his help? He scoffed as he rolled his eyes. Typical.

"Come on, son, that storms going to burst any second now!" Eckle struggled to unfold the mower cover.

"Ugh, why can't Lem do this?" Eckle complained as the wind momentarily tore the cover from his grasp. "This thing is huge!"

"'Cause you're here and he isn't," his father replied. "Now here, you do it like this!"

"Need a hand, neighbour?" Their next door neighbours, the Hoplogs, and Nerra's parents, where out in their front yard. Nerra's father was the one who offered a hand.

"Yeah," Lem's dad said. "Can you help me with this?"

"No problem," he jumped the fence, just as the wind picked up. A splash of water hit him in the face and he blinked up at the sky. "Looks like it's about to break." They both grabbed the cover, and pulled it on. "Man, that was a challenge," he said. "Wanna have a beer when you're done?"

"I would love..." The thunderclap drowned out the rest of his response.

"What was that!?" Eckle cried out. Everyone looked up at the sky.

"That didn't sound like thunder." There was a brilliant flash of orange in the sky.

"What the...!?" Everyone gaped in shock as the a second bright orange flash tore open the sky, and a bellowing ball of fire broke through. It rocketed towards the ground below at a fantastic speed, before a third flash of orange blossomed, and it began to slow down.

Great gusts of wind tore at everyone, even blowing Eckle off his feet. Dust and grass, and twigs and dirt was all thrown up along with a thick grey fog. And the noise. There was a terrible roaring sound like a continuous explosion that seemed to last forever, until; it all stopped.

The wind was still there. It began to blow, clearing the air as the grey fog was blown away, lifted like a curtain.

Everyone was speechless. Right before them, in their front yard, stood a giant metal pod. It looked like a giant metal head on three legs. There was some octagon shaped box on it's side with a strange yellow and black symbol. There was still some sort of grey fog, whispering from beneath it, while the lawn it stood on had been reduced to scorched earth.

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Nobody blinked.

Suddenly, there was a loud humming sound and a puff of air, as the side of the pod abruptly slid out, then tilted over to rest on the ground, forming some sort of gangplank. The wind howled madly, and lighting flashed overhead.

Then, there was movement. Something emerged from the newly created opening in the pod. It was white. It was bulky. It was huge. It's body was completely white, with a large dome like sphere for a head and a large reflective visor for an eye. It bent as it climbed out, stood straight and tall, before leaping to the ground below. Dirt fountained up around it's feet as it landed. There was a large white box, like a backpack on it's back, and clutched in both it's hands, was a poll with a brightly coloured rectangular cloth at one end.

For a moment, it seemed to freeze, before looking up at the sky. Then, it looked down at it's feet, as it carefully took one step forward. Then another, and another, until it was halfway between the family and the pod. Then, it heaved the poll into the air, and slammed it down hard, into the ground; the brightly coloured cloth fluttering madly in the wind.

As it began to straighten up, it looked up, past the flag, towards the two families standing there, utterly gob smacked. It froze.

Something wet and with a heavy feel to it, hit Lems dad between his antenna. He didn't even bother to look up, as another hit him right between the eyes. Then another. Water began to trickle down from the sky, gradually soaking all their clothes.

But no one moved. It was like looking at a set of lawn ornaments. The big white bulky creature looked up at the sky, before looking back at the two families. Slowly, it let go of the poll with both hands, and took a step back. Then another.

Suddenly it made a mad dash back to the pod, only to come to a screeching halt.

"ECKLE!?" Eckle turned at the sound of his mothers scream. He had been so caught up in looking inside the alien pod, that he didn't even see the alien coming towards him. Now it was only a scat foot away, hunched over.

"Whoa!" Eckle cried out in surprise, and reached into his pocket, and pulled out the only thing he could find. His toy ray gun. He took aim and pulled the trigger. The front end of the gun flashed and made a high-pitched buzzing sound. To Eckles surprise, the creature ducked and cringed. Eckle looked flabbergasted. He took aim again, and fired. The creature rolled out of the way. Eckle couldn't understand it. He didn't expect it to be afraid of his toy gun. He'd just done that on the spur of the moment.

He grinned savagely. "All right you alien!" He shouted in the best brave voice he could muster. "I'm Eckle Korplog, alien hunter, extraordinary!" He took aim again and began to repeatability pull the trigger. "Get off my planet you space invading scum!"

As the ray gun whizzed and banged, the creature made a mad dash for safety, dodging and weaving as if Eckle's toy were real. Running into and taking out their front gate as it half ran, half stumbled into the street. It stood there for a moment, looking left, then right, then left again, before looking back at it's pod, to see Eckle starting forward towards it, ray gun raised. It threw it's arms up into the air, running off down the street.

Just as Eckle reached what used to be their front gate, the front door of the house flew open as Lem rushed out. "Eckle!" He cried out, "Get away from that thing!"

"But Lem," Eckle protested. "I've got it on the run, I have to go finish it off! Before it destroys our world!"

"Eckle, this isn't a comic book!" Lem snapped, grabbing his brother by the arm. "We've got to get to safety. We've got to call the Sheriff!"

"To the Pit with the Sheriff," Lem's dad finally gasped. "We need the army!" High above them lighting flashed, thunder roared, and the heavens broke loose. They all scattered, running back into their respective houses, just as the sound of the towns air raid siren began to rise over the roar of the storm.

***


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** _Thanks one and all for your reviews and comments. Please note that I have fixed up the minor typo's in chapter 1, like Glar and Lem being friends for 4 years then 3. And Lem seeing a star in the afternoon sky and not the evening sky. Please let me know what you think of this chapter. Please don't be afriad to point out typo's and errors if you spot them.  
_

_Enjoy._

* * *

Back inside their house, the Korplog family all huddled together in the living room, soaking wet. Outside, the rain fell in drenching sheets, hammering the roof of their house, roaring down the metal gutters, and splashing on the ground in a torrent. Just then, Lem's father returned.

"Well?" Their mother asked.

"The Sheriff knows. By the Pit, half the damn town already knows."

"So what are they going to be doing about it?"

"They've called in the army, but it'll take some time to get organised." He glared over at the rain slashed window. "Damn storm is making it difficult to organise everything."

"I'll get some towels," Their mother said, heading for the cupboard.

"So what do we do?" Lem asked.

"You're all heading down into the basement," his father answered. "As for me, I've been called up. I have to report over at the town hall auditorium."

"Right now?" Their mother asked. He nodded.

"Storm or no storm," he said, grabbing a rain coat. "We've been invaded by aliens."

"You haven't seen live combat in 20 years, they can't be serious!?"

"I'm a Great War veteran, honey," They kissed. "I can handle anything. Even aliens." He pointed to Lem. "Lem, I'm putting you in charge until I get back."

"Me?" Lem was just as shocked as everyone else.

"Yes, I know," his father sighed. "But you've shown responsibility, along with sensible thinking, and right now, this family needs a leading man!"

"What about me dad?" Eckle protested. His father frowned at his youngest son.

"When you've learned not to go looking in alien space crafts, and chase after deadly aliens with only a toy gun, then we can talk. Now I've got to get going." He opened the door, and struggled to close it against the storm. Lem walked over to the window and watched as their father pulled out of the garage in the family car, carefully avoiding the alien pod, and then driving off into the storm.

He then turned back to his family who were looking at him expectantly. "Well, we'd better do as dad said, everyone into the basement, I'll join you both after I go around and make sure all the doors and windows are locked."

Lem watched them all leave then turned to lock the front door. He was stunned. Not by the alien invasion, but what his father had done. Left HIM in charge. His eldest son whom he barely even acknowledged these days. Then again, Dad had never come out and said that he was an embarrassment. Oh he'd come close, but never said the exact words.

He smiled. Maybe being invaded by space monsters wasn't such a bad thing after all.

***

Rain drummed loudly on the roof of the auditorium that served as the Town Hall's general meeting area. The lights were on, but the windows had been covered with black cloth, a trick that harked back to the days of the Great War when fleets of bombers would use the lights of houses to guide themselves to their targets.

The whole building was packed with men of all ages. Some of them fresh out of school, while others who'd seen combat during the Great War.

"I never thought I'd have to go through this again," Neera's father said to Lem's father. "I mean, damn, aliens. Makes you wonder if the whole incident was real."

"Let's not go down that road, Glemp," Lem's dad responded. "Right now, we need the army, and distrusting them is the last thing we want to do." Glemp chewed on his bottom lip.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Quip," he said. "How are you're family taking it? I mean, that thing DID land in your front yard." Before Quip could answer, a grim-face middle-aged man wearing a green-grey suit walked across the stage and stopped in the centre. Crowd noises cease, as if cut off by a switch.

Quip recognised him as Deputy Mayor Schlip Torrg. Mayor Toslog was on a trip to the West Coast trying to promote the towns tourism industry. No doubt he'd have much more to work with now that there was a real live alien running around in his town. The Deputy Mayor looked very nervous, more so than anyone in the crowd. "Are we waiting for any more?" He asked. A few heads shock in a silent 'No.' The Deputy Mayor nodded and continued. "I'd like to thank you all for coming, especially in this awful weather."

"When do we get our guns?" A youngster in the crowd shouted.

Up on stage, the Deputy Mayor raised his brow mussels to the silent Great Rings above. "Son, we don't have that many guns to give, or uniforms, or much of anything. In fact the majority of what we DO have is left over from the Great War."

Both Quip and Glemp smiled. At least they'd get equipment they knew how to handle.

Somebody else jumped up and shouted, "Then what the Pit are we supposed to do if we encounter this alien!? Use harsh language?"

"Hopefully it won't have to come to that." Everybody turned to see Sheriff Grug enter the stage from the other side. "We won't be engaging the alien in direct combat, that's the army's job."

"Hey, where the Pit are they, anyway?" Someone interjected. "My family is at home all alone and for all I know, that thing could've skinned them and left their bodies outside to hang." Somebody in the crowd gave a small cry of fear.

"Will everybody please calm down!?" The Sheriff almost shouted that last sentence. "You're not going to make the world any better by shouting at it!" The man who'd shouted out reluctantly returned to his seat. "Now, I can assure you that the army has been contacted, and they're on their way to the landing site even as we speak."

Another person stood up and shouted out, "But the alien's not at it's ship!" Quip recognised him as old man Peolog who lived across the street from him. "It ran off into the town!" He turned to look at Quip. "Ain't that right Korplog? It landed in your front yard, didn't it?" He asked him. All eyes turned on Quip who reluctantly nodded.

"Yes, the Alien ran off into the town." More cries of alarm rang out in the auditorium and Quip winced.

"My family!" Someone shouted.

"Please, all of you, calm down!" The Deputy Mayor cried out. "We can control the situation but only if we all stop panicking!"

Before anyone could respond, the double doors at the entrance to the auditorium crashed open allowing the wind and the noise of the storm to spill into the whole room. Heads turned to see two shadowy figures cloaked in rain coats walk inside. The shorter one turned to close the door behind them, while the taller one removed his hood.

The General stood tall and proud as he stopped in the centre of the auditorium and eyed all those who were present. He then waited until the shorter man, a Captain joined him by his side.

"Gentlemen," he called out, loud enough so that all could here. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am General Gunlog Grawl, and I will be in charge," he paused as he looked around the room, "Considering you can't seem to organise your selves."

"Well, it's about time the army got here, what kept you?" Someone from across the room shouted.

"Since we haven't discovered a way to instantaneously teleport ourselves we had to rely on driving vehicles here. Also the storm is making things rather difficult." He ignored the man as he started to make his way towards the stage. "I can assure we we have at least one brigade here in town at the moment." He paused as he reached centre stage. "I have requested to the Council of Thirteen that this be increased to at least one division, with additional regiment support units."

"The Council of Thirteen?" Somebody said. Everybody took notice.

"Yes, despite the noise of the storm you people are very loud and I can assure you that they army has not abandoned you," he paused again for effect. "Nor has the Prime Alpha."

Everyone gasped. "The Prime Alpha!?!"

"You maybe a small tourist town compared to the big industrialised cities of the West Coast, but you are all members of the same confederation, and your Prime Alpha has declared this area a disaster zone, giving it top priority for aid and defence." A few people sighed in relief. "But we will still need your help. All of you." The General added. "If we are to find and capture this alien before there are any casualties, we will need cooperation... and trust."

A few people hanged their heads in shame.

"Thank you, General," The Deputy Mayor said. "The Sheriff and I are at your disposal for as long as you need us."

"Then what we need, is for everyone to return to their homes." The General said. "Weapons and equipment will be distributed to all those who are members of the volunteer militia. But right now, we just need everyone were they are safe. In your homes with your families."

Heads bobbed in approval. Many looked relieved. "Thank you, General," Sheriff Grug said as he turned to the crowd. "Now, I want everyone to form two lines over by the sign up tables. One line for Great War Veterans, over there, towards the left, and the other on the right for everyone else."

People got up and started moving this way and that.

"Mr. Torrg," General Grawl said to the man after the two lines had formed. "My men and I will need maps of the town. Sewer systems, electrical grids, even old construction plans."

"Yessir, General," the Deputy mayor nodded, and quickly rushed off.

"Sheriff, I'm going to need you to be in charge of the volunteer force. I want you to to organise your troops ASAP, then I want you to guard important locations like the power plant and water works, until more units arrive."

"Yessir," the Sheriff saluted. Grawl returned the gesture as the Sheriff left.

"Sir?" General Grawl turned to face his Captain. "Shouldn't we tell them about the machine?"

"Tell them what exactly Captain." Grawl asked. "That there could very well be a second alien wandering around out there? I'm sure that'll go down well. Besides, we don't know IF there is a second alien. We still haven't confirmed if or if not, the machine got up and left on it's own accord. There's still the possibility it was stolen." He looked out over the crowd. "We'll burn that bridge when we cross it, Captain, right now, these people don't need anything more to fear as it is already."

**THE NEXT DAY...**

The sound of something beeping caused Lem to open his eyes and look up through his skylight at the grey clouds in the sky high above him. He sat up at the sound of movement and voices from outside. Outside the sky wasn't inky black as it had been, but rather grey with a moderate drizzle. The wind no longer tore at the trees and they only shook from the splatter of the rain drops.

"What the Pit is that racket?" He muttered shuffling over to the window. "It's 5 in the morning." He looked out the window, to see two massive army green trucks parked in front of his house; a third was in the middle of reversing into the driveway, the cause of the beeping sound. He looked confused, before he looked over at the great big white pod on tripods sitting on the front lawn. Armed men in army green and rain coats had the thing surrounded, while army engineers were setting up a security fence to cordon it off.

"Oh, right." He muttered. "So it wasn't a dream after all." His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He turned, and called out, "Come in?"

The door opened, as his mother appeared. "Honey?" She asked. "You're up."

"Yeah," Lem said nodding towards the window. "Can't sleep with that noise."

"You wanted me to wake you up early for your job." Lem's eyes widened.

"Job? Oh yeah!" He'd totally forgotten about that. "Thanks for that, mom," he said.

"Lem honey?" He looked over at his mother. "Take care, sweety." Lem was surprised. She hadn't called him sweety in... far too long.

"I will mom," he said, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll call you when I get there, and when I'm leaving. Now I need you to leave so that I can get dressed."

"You ride carefully in this rain," his mother said as she closed the door behind her. Lem smiled. Who ever said an alien invasion was a bad thing.

His mother was waiting by the front door as he came down the stairs. She held out a small lunch box with a Thermos. "I made you some lunch and something to drink while you're at work, Lem," she said.

"Aww, thanks mom," Lem said as he took it from her.

"Now you will call me when you get there, to let your mother know you're alright?"

"I will mom." Lem said as he allowed himself to be kissed good-bye on the cheek. "I can look after myself. I'm just worried about you and dad."

"Your father and I will be fine, dear," she said, handing him a rain coat. "Just be safe." Lem nodded as put the rain coat on and exited the house into the garage. Lem's dad was in there, along with five soldiers, all setting up some sort of electrical equipment.

"Oh, Lem!" His father called out, his arms full with extension cords. "Take care son!"

"I will, dad," Lem said, as he pulled out his bike, and started peddling down the driveway. The rain was light as he left the driveway and pulled out into the street. Up and down the street, families were piling their possessions into their cars and boarding up their houses. A few houses were already empty, their windows covered in wooden planks. Both ends of the street were barricaded off, with jeeps, soldiers, and even a tank for good measures. Crowds of onlookers blocked out whatever lay beyond the blockade.

"Kid, wait!" He turned to see a big soldier in a rain coat, holding out a plastic card. "You're going to need this to get back home." He handed Lem the card. It was an Army issued id card that proved he lived here. His face grinned back at him, and he wondered where they got the photo from?

"Thanks," he told the soldier, as he started peddling down the street towards the planetarium. The soldiers forced an opening in the crowd, allowing him to get through, but the moment he passed the check-point, he was bombarded by flash bulbs and a million jabbering questions.

"...Did the creature look...?"

"...You in any danger from...?"

"...Army told you not to tell...?"

Reporters. Lem covered his eyes from the bright lights that flashed and popped, as he tried to push his way through the swarm. This proved impossible as they all seemed to draw in closer, to the point where he was jabbed in the head with a microphone or two.

"Back off!" Lem shouted. "I don't know anything! Just let me pass!" That only made them more determined. Someone yanked on his left antenna, and he'd had enough. "Alright, that's it!" Lem snarled, as he balled his fist and raised it...

...only to have someone grab his wrist.

"Lem!" He recognised the voice. Neera. "Over here!" She began to pull his wrist, and Lem allowed himself to follow, pushing through the crowd, before finally breaking free and stumbling. The shouting of questions continued, until Lem shouted no comment with a swear to get across his message. Neera helped him away from the crowd.

"Thanks." He said after he was sure no one was following. Neera's smiling face beamed back at him through the rain from behind her own rain coat.

"You looked like you were in trouble," she said, as she looked him up and down. "Look's like you're going to need a change of clothes too." It was then that Lem realised that his shirt was wet. Looking down, he saw all the buttons on his rain coat had been ripped off.

"Aww, nuts," Lem muttered.

"Come with me," she said, taking his hand and leading him away from the crowd. "My aunt lives not too far from here. I can get you some dry clothes there." Lem smiled.

"Thank you Neera. For everything." The two smiled as they walked hand in hand.

"So Lem," Neera asked, "What DID the creature look like?"

"Big, white, and ugly." Lem replied. "Where ever it came from, it must have had some ugly parents." Neera laughed.

"Man, that must have been scary," she said. "I mean, seeing a real live alien."

"I wasn't scared," Lem said puffing out his chest slightly. "In fact, Dad put me in charge when he left. Said I was a sensible leader."

"Really? Your dad?" Neera sounded just as shocked as he had when it had actually happened.

Before Lem could answer, a car came to a screeching halt beside them. Both of them looked up to see the face of Valgor looking back at them. "Neera!" He cried out, jumping out of the car, and rushing over to her. "There you are, thank the Great Rings you're okay!"

"I'm fine Valgor," she said a little flattered at his concern for her. Lem just narrowed his eyes in contempt. "But, I'm perfectly fine."

"For now!" He said, "But who knows where that alien monster is. It could be lurking around the corner," he gave a quick glance at Lem, "Or it could be impersonating any one of us."

"Even you?" Lem shot back. Valgor ignored him.

"I couldn't get through to your house, and the phone lines are all jammed. Neera I was worried something had happened to you."

"That's so sweet, Valgor," Neera said. "But you don't have to worry about me. I can look after myself perfectly fine."

"Please," Valgor said, "I need you to come with me! My fathers booked a flight out of town tomorrow, for my family." He looked her square in the eye. "There's room for yours as well."

"Really?" Neera sounded interested. Lem rolled his eyes.

"But Neera," Lem said. "What about... You know. This weekend?"

"Huh?" This caught Valgor by surprise. "What about this weekend?"

"I agreed to go out with Lem this weekend," Neera said. "That's what this weekend is about."

"Him!?" Valgor let his disgust show through. "Neera, he's a trouble maker. He nearly killed me with his stunt last..."

"It's not like you didn't deserve it!" Lem snapped.

"Lem!" Neera warned. "Not now!" Lem just nodded. "Valgor. I'm going out with Lem this weekend, invasion or not. If my family doesn't wish to leave, then I won't make them."

Valgor gave an irritated sigh. "Fine," he said. "But Neera, the offer still stands." He looked over at Lem, then asked. "Can I at least take you to your parents and talk about it?"

"Okay," Neera said. "I want to bring Lem along as well." Valgor gave a quick flicker of annoyance.

"Fine, but," he looked at Lem, at his boxed lunch and bike. "He looks like he has some place to be?"

Lem's eyes widened. He looked down at his wrist watch. 5:25. "Oh damn!" he snapped. "My job. I start at 6."

"Valgor can give you a ride."

"And leave his bike?" Lem wished Valgor wasn't so right.

"I'm going to have to go, Neera," Lem said. "If we hadn't gotten so caught up in talking with others," he glanced over at Valgor. "I might have been able to accept your invitation." Valgor smiled.

"Very well, Lem," Neera said. "But please, be careful." He grabbed his arm, and gave him a quick kiss. Lem was frozen. Valgor grunted. Lem just stood there, unable to say anything. "Bye." And then, Neera was gone.

Lem couldn't believe it. Neera had kissed him!? A grin slowly spread across his face. He star jumped into the air and shouted in triumph.

"In your face Valgor!" He shouted in the direction he'd left. "She kissed me, not you, me!" He laughed out loud as he started his bike down the street in the opposite direction. He looked up as over head, the sound of a helicopter swept in low over the roof tops, making a bee line for Lem's house.

***

The helicopter circled around the front of the Korplog house, before landing gently on the road. General Grawl climbed out and walked over to the Captain who was supervising the quarantining of the alien pod.

"Greetings, sir," the captain saluted. "I apologise for the lateness of the quarantine fence sir, but the civilians fleeing the town are making things difficult for us to get things where they need to be." He let an irritated sigh escape. "And then there's those damn..."

"Yes, the reporters." The General finished, he glanced over at the nearest throng of people. "They're nothing but panic spreaders."

"We've managed to secure a place for you to stay, while you're here, sir," the Captain said, pointing at Lem's house. "The owner of this house was more than whiling to lend us their home." He looked up and down the street to see a few cars drive past, dangerously loaded up with furniture and people. "I don't think we'll have any trouble finding temporary accommodation for our boys."

"We should try to at least promote some kind of calm," the General said. "People are scared enough as it already is. What's the situation at the outer zones?" The Captain grunted.

"Chaos," he responded. "We're swamped. We don't have the manpower and there's far too many people trying to get in and out. We've had to divert at least a third of all available troops to just manning the southern exit alone." The General nodded. Too many towns people had freaked out and were trying to get out as fast as they could, while every sight seer, reporter, thrill seeker, and general nut-case this world had to offer was trying to get in.

"The alien could sneak through," Grawl mused. "What's the status of the local militia?"

"At least one quarter of all volunteers have been issued with equipment of sorts." The Captain answered. "Last time I spoke with the Sheriff, he said that they were really scraping the bottom of the barrel for guns."

"Damn," Grawl snarled softly, before deciding to change the subject. "What's the status on the specialist team from Capital City?"

The Captain smiled. "Their plane just touched down at the airport sir," he said. "They'll be here as soon as they've unloaded all their equipment." He looked back over at the barricade. "I just hope that they can get through."

"I'll radio the Prime Alpha to see if I can get additional powers to help deal with those damn reporters," Grawl said, as he started walking across the lawn towards the pod. "Along with more than just a division." He stopped before the fence, and glanced over at the poll with the rectangular brightly coloured cloth at one end. It had seven horizontal red stripes, and six white stripes. In the corner was a blue rectangle that contained fifty-three stars.

"What do you make of it sir?" The Captain asked. "Looks like they got here first."

The General slightly nodded. "So how far behind are the others?"

***

The rain was beginning to ease of as Lem walked in through the front doors of the Planetarium. The entrance hall was eerily quite as he closed the doors behind him. His feet squeaked loudly on the polished floor as he hurried across to the large closet that served as his personal office here. Unlocking it, he opened it to see all his personal belongings inside, just as he'd left them.

There was a new addition to his office. A schedule on a clip board. The top of the sheet held his name, and a few scribbled notes that told him what the Professor wanted him to do. Get his files ready for the days paper work. Clean up the main lobby floor. Clean up the auditorium. Organise, and rotate the major pictures for display.

It was nothing more than janitors work. But it was still working at the Planetarium, Lems dream. And as far as he was concerned, that was perfectly fine and dandy with him. Behind the clipboard, was the eight by ten photo of Neera. He'd hung that there ever since he'd started work here. A hand felt the spot where she'd kissed him, before he leaned over and kissed the photo, square on the lips.

"Thanks for believing in me," he whispered.

The phone in Professor Oglos's office suddenly rang. He ran across the floor, unlocking the door, and rushed across the office to just barely pick up the phone. "Hello, you've reached the Glipforg Planetarium, Professor Oglos's Office, Lem speaking?"

"Lem?" It was the Professor himself. "I'm surprised you even showed up to work today."

"I meant what I said, sir," Lem answered. "I'm dedicated to..."

"No, no," the professor interrupted. "I'm not talking about your reputation Lem, I'm talking about the alien invasion."

"Oh," Lem said. "Well, alien invasion or not, I'm still dedicated to the job, sir."

"Nice to here," the professor answered. "But I don't think we'll be getting any people in today, not while the streets are clogged with cars. I'm closing the Planetarium until further notice."

"Oh," Lem almost crushed the phone in anger. "Well, can I at least clean up for when we do open up again, sir?"

"Very well," The professor said. "But make sure you lock everything up before you leave." Then he hung up leaving only the beep-beeping of the disengaged single. Lem slowly put the phone down, before he screamed in frustration. "Damn, everything was so perfect." He shook his head and sighed. "I suppose everything can't go right for you during an alien invasion." He took a deep breath. "Besides, it's not like I've been fired. Just temporarily off duty for a while." He took a few more deep breaths, and smiled. "Ahh, that's better."

While in community service at the Planetarium, he'd actually attended his anger management courses and learned a few things about keeping his temper under control.

"Grey skies are gonna clear up," Lem sang as he waltz back to his office. "Put on a happy face." He paused in mid stride. Lem had the sneaking suspicion that he had forgotten something. He racked his brain, trying to remember. Was it something on the work schedule?

His eyes fell on the cleaning products that were stationed by the double doors that lead into the auditorium, and he sighed. Of cause. Four weeks ago, Skiff had showed up at the Planetarium with Eckle, much to Lem's annoyance, and during one of Professor Oglos's lectures on Space, the Universe, and Everything, Skiff had rather rudely interjected when the subject of alien life cropped up.

Skiff, proving what a waste of consuming natural resource he really was, launched into one of his usual government cover-up theories on Base 9 and the man-eating aliens that they contained. His in-depth graphic details on the dissection procedures led to one kid losing his lunch and Skiff being banned for life from the Planetarium.

It's taken the better half of the day to remove the vomit from the carpet, but the smell still lingered. The auditorium looked rather funny ever since when ever they had a full house, as standing on the podium, you could see a large hole in the crowd, as people sat in the isle, not wanting to go near the area.

At that point, he'd been trying desperately to get on the Professor's good side, and because Skiff and Eckle were friends, it led to some misunderstanding between the Professor and Lem as to his relationship with Skiff. It'd nearly cost him the Professor's trust.

One of the many hundred reasons Lem hated Skiff. On the brighter side, at least both he and the Professor had something that they hatted in common.

The lights in the auditorium weren't working as Lem entered, carrying the buckets of cleaning products. Grumbling in frustration, Lem headed for the power box, and flipped it open, to see what was wrong. To Lem's horror, the whole thing had been gutted. The front cover had been removed and the insides removed.

"What the Pit?" Lem snarled. He went back to his closet and fetched a flash light. Returning, he shone it around the auditorium. Over in the far corner, lay the insides of the power box, alongside a sheet of some sorts. Lem frowned. He slowly walked over, and examined the mess. It was a light bluish blanket laying atop some rugs from the basement. It looked like a nest of some sorts.

There was also a few cushions, and a large white bulky box laying off to one side. Laying near the remains of the power box was an open suit case, full of arcane objects that Lem couldn't even recognise. He picked up a devise from the open case and looked at it. It was small and glowed a strange green colour. It was fairly light too. It was rounded and smooth and felt rather cold. He put it down and began to shift through the other things in the case.

There was a clicking sound behind him. Lem turned the flash light around right into the face of a large white object. Something in front of him reflected his torch light back at him, and he lowered it slightly.

For the first time in his life, Lem knew what it meant to have your heart 'Skip a Beat.'

It was the alien. It's dome like head with reflective visor was instantaneously recognisable. It was standing behind him a few feet, holding something in quivering hands; A small black object that looked way too small for it's thick hands to be holding. Lem dropped his flash light and it dropped to the floor to roll away under the seats.

Darkness momentarily returned, and Lem couldn't see the creature in as much detail as he had before. The moment the light fell, the creature flinched. There was a loud, sharp bang and a bright flash of light exploded from the small black object in his hand.

Something whizzed past Lem at an impossible speed, and he screamed. The creature roared out something and stumbled backwards, tripping over it's thick legs. Lem scrambled to his feet and ran down the the isle, only to smack his knee on an arm rest, because he couldn't see where he was going in the dark. He groaned loudly, as he stumbled about.

Damn it, where was the flash light? He squinted in the darkness, and saw the beam of light, from under a chair further back. Slowly, he crawled along carefully looking about for any sign of the alien. He had to get the flash light if he was to find the exit and get out of here. Finally, he reached the light and grabbed it.

Or rather, something with a silky soft feel to it. He looked up, and in the darkness, he could make out the reflective visor, staring him in the face. He screamed again, yanking his hand away. The creature roared again, and flung it's hand about wildly.

Lem was about to crawl away when he realised it had let go of the flash light. He grabbed it, just as the alien made another attempt to get it. Lem recoiled in horror, and struck out at the creature, smashing it's hand with the light. It roared again, as it pulled back, clutching it's hand. Lem realised he'd hurt it.

Courage built up in him as his fingers tightened around the flash light, and he swung it again, striking it across the face. That blow sent it reeling, and Lem followed through with a jab to the stomach. It doubled over and Lem landed another blow on the back of it's head, knocking it to the ground.

He raised the light for another blow but as he brought it down, the creature rolled away. It half crawled, half dragged it's self across the floor, as Lem followed raining blows down on it's back and legs.

Finally, Lem backed it into a corner, where it huddled in on it's self. Lem stood back, and then moved forward to finish it off, when he stopped.

The creature appeared to be shivering. Almost as if it were afraid. He lowered the light from striking position and aimed the beam at it. It was curled in on it's self, holding up it's arms in self defence. For the first time, Lem actually felt pity for it. Only for a moment. Lem raised the torch again, and moved forward. It cringed, making a soft whimpering sound as it braced it's self for the coming attack, causing Lem to stop once again.

The pity returned. He stopped in mid thought. HE was feeling pity for an invading ALIEN? He looked back down at the quivering form. If it was an invading alien, then the planet would have nothing to fear about if he managed to beat it with just a flash light.

He backed off, slowly, watching the creature as he did so. It in turned watched him, though still ready to expect an attack. His foot stood on something hard and cold, and looking down, he saw the small black object that the alien had held. Lem quickly snatched it up, looking it over.

It looked like a handgun. Short and smooth, with rounded edges; It looked too small even for him. Looking back, the alien seemed somewhat distressed. Lem quickly pointed the thing at the creature and it started quivering again, this time, putting both it's hands into the air.

For a moment, Lem just stood there, aiming the gun-thing at the alien. He didn't know what to do next? Call the Sheriff? How? He couldn't get to the phone. The alien in turn was studying him. It lowered it's arms slightly as he leaned closer, as if trying to make something out. Lem raised the gun towards it.

Suddenly, it leapt at him. Lem cried out in alarm, and pulled the trigger. Something clicked and a long black object slid from the handle of the gun to fall to the floor. Lem didn't realise what it was as the alien tackled him to the ground. Lem screamed for help as the alien's massive bulk threatened to smother him.

The gun was pulled from his hand, and the creature got up, kicking Lem out of the way. He looked up at the alien as it picked up the thing that had fallen from the gun and stuck it back into the handle. It grabbed something on top of the gun and pulled it back; making an loud cocking sound.

It looked at Lem, before taking aim, and pulling the trigger.

Nothing happened. There wasn't even a click. The alien grunted as it looked the gun over, before fiddling with something on the side. Lem didn't know what it was or what had happened. He saw that the alien was distracted, and he kicked out at it's stomach. The alien saw this coming and moved, so that Lem's kick landed square between it's legs.

The Alien shuddered violently at this blow and seemed to freeze up. There was a low moaning sound, before it fell to it's knees then fell over, clutching the spot between it's legs where Lem had kicked it. Lem scrambled backwards until he hit the wall.

He lay there, breathing heavily from all the excitement, watching the alien, not moving, just making a low moaning sound. Had he fatally wounded it? Getting up, he slowly approached the creature and prodded it with the flash light. It didn't move. Slowly, he reached out and touched it.

The surface was smooth, and cold. He rubbed his hand along the top, feeling the head, until he noticed what looking like clips. He fiddled with one and it sprung open. He leapt back slightly.

Wait a minute!

He turned the body over, and exactly on the opposite side, was another one. His eyes widened as he realised this was a helmet. He could be the first person to see the alien in it's natural form. Slowly, he reached out, and flicked the clip. Nothing happened. He touched the helmet and wriggled it. It turned suddenly, and he jumped back; the helmet coming back with him.

It took him a few seconds to realise he was holding it, before he dropped it in shock. Slowly, he picked up the flash light, and shone it at what he thought was the creatures head.

It was disgusting. It's skin was a horrible pinkish hue, and it had... FUR!?! The top half of it's head was covered in a light orange coloured fur; Short and trimmed. It's face looked like a persons, but there was a long organ of some sorts in the middle of it's face between it's eyes that had two holes in it.

What the Pit did it use that for!? Above it's eyes was more of the orange fur instead of eye brow mussels. Lem's curiosity got the better of him as he stepped closer, and grabbed the bottom of it's chin, turning it's face this way and that, both amazed and horrified at the creatures features. It's skin wasn't hard and cold, like a normal persons, but rather soft and warm; It was also very squishy. He nearly laughed when he found himself continuously pressing it's face, watching the skin sink and rise.

Suddenly, it's eyelids flung open, to reveal a pair of liquid blue eyes. Lem screamed out in horror as the creature screamed it's self. It sat up, feeling it's face where Lem had touched it. Then, it stopped screaming as something else came out from it's mouth. A series of short controlled barking like sounds.

Lem frowned. The creature saw it's helmet, lying on it's side. It picked it up and looked over at Lem, before launching into it's barking, growling and yapping sounds. The way it's arms moved, it's shoulders; It almost seemed annoyed at something. And the movements combined with the sounds came across as quite comical.

One side of Lem's mouth turned up slightly as it reached over to rummage through it's suit case, pulling out object after object. Lem listened to it's barking and yapping noises. The slower ones sounded insanely like those cartoon characters he used to watch as a kid. His bottom lip quivered as a laugh tried to bubble up.

The creature found what it was looking for, and then then stuck it into the organ on it's face, the one with the two holes, and breathed deeply. The snorting sound that followed sounded like someone breaking wind.

Lem couldn't hold it any longer. Laughter erupted from his mouth and he fell over backwards, holding his sides. He didn't know how long he'd been laughing for when he looked up, the alien was giving him a confused look. Well, at least it looked like the alien was confused. "I'm sorry," Lem said with a chuckle. "It's just that..." He started laughing again. The creature looked at Lem, then back at the device it was using, before looking back to Lem.

Finally, Lem was able to bring his laughter under control as he sat up. The alien was staring at him, it's hands on it's hips, slightly shaking it's head. It then gave a grunt which sounded like a question, to which Lem only shrugged. The alien placed a hand to it's forehead and shook it slightly, then it started it's barking sounds again, this time more softly as it's hands gestured.

Lem just blinked back at it. "Sorry," he said holding up his hands, drawing the alien's attention. "I don't speak alien." The creature said something. Then repeated it again. Lem gave it a confused look, before it held out it's hand and shook it's head. It then pulled it's self up into a sitting position, and patted it's chest. As it did this, it growled softly. Lem listened, as it repeated the sound again.

"Chuck." It said.

"Chuck?" Lem repeated. It nodded rather enthusiastic. "Chuck?" Lem mused. It patted it's chest with a hopeful expression. Suddenly Lem's eyes went wide. "OH! Oh, it's... YOU'RE Chuck!" He pointed at the alien. "Chuck!" It nodded. The alien's name was Chuck. "Your name is Chuck," Lem said slowly. Then to his shock, the creature spoke.

"Your name is Chuck!" Lem nearly did a double take.

"Yeah," Lem gasped. "That's... what I just said."

"Yeah," Chuck repeated. "That's... what I just said." Lem frowned. The alien... Chuck was repeating everything he was saying. Lem suddenly realised. It was trying to communicate. It was still looking back at Lem with an unreadable expression. Lem looked confused, before he nodded. "Oh right. My name." He patted his chest, much like Chuck had done, and said slowly, "Lem."

"Lem." Chuck repeated. Lem nodded, and Chuck was silent for a moment. Then, he looked up and as if thinking carefully, he said, "your name is... Lem."

"Amazing." Lem gasped. Chuck had repeated exactly what he'd said before, but adding Lem's name instead of his own. Chuck nodded, then he slowly reached over into his suit case, and pulled out a rubber ball. He held it up, so that Lem could see it. He then said a single sharp yap. Lem couldn't understand. Chuck repeated the yap then looked expectantly at Lem.

Lem could only stare back in confusion. "It's a ball?" He asked. Chuck seemed annoyed. He sighed and shock his head. He slowly repeated the yap then gestured towards Lem. "I don't understand?" Lem said. "What do you want?" Chuck sighed loudly, then looked around. He grabbed the torch, and shone it around the room, before settling on a plaque that had a list of rules. He got up and walked over to the sign, gesturing for Lem to follow, which he did.

Chuck pointed at the sign, and then said, "Lem!" Lem nodded. He pointed from Lem, to the sign, then to himself. "Chuck!" He said. He said Lem's name again pointed at him, then to the sign, and again to himself and said his own name. He then picked up a book, opened it, and mimed reading it. He said Lem's name again, pointed at him, then the book, and at himself again saying his own name.

"OH!" Lem cried out, pointing at Chuck. "You want me to teach you my language!?!" Chuck looked confused. "Come with me!" Lem said, gesturing for Chuck to follow. Lem exited the auditorium with Chuck in tow, as he took him into Professor Oglos's office. "Sit," Lem said, pulling out a chair and pointing at it.

"Sit?" Chuck asked.

"Sit," Lem repeated, and sat down in the chair. "Sit!" He said.

Chuck's eyes widened. "Sit!" He said, and sat down. Lem clapped his hands together and looked around. He then pointed at a lamp.

"Lamp." He said. Chuck repeated the word. He then picked it up. "I hold lamp." Chuck mimicked the movement and repeated the sentence. Lem picked up item after item, pens, paper, books, a phone. Chuck pronounced all the worlds and the sentence structures that came with it. Chuck seemed confused at some times, but Lem was quick to correct him. Chuck seemed to lose most of his ridged posture for a more relaxed one as his first lesson in speaking began.

Lem on the other hand was thinking not only about the lesson, but the future as well. An alien was one thing, but a talking alien which he captured. You couldn't even begin to name all the possibilities that could spring from that. He kept his smile hidden as he continued to teach Chuck. When all this was over, he was going to be rich and famous.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: ** _A great big thanks to everybody who reviewed and your comments are most welcomed. If you encounter any typo's please don't hesitate to let me know. Nerra has now been correctly spelt, Neera._

_ Enjoy...:)_

* * *

General Grawl had only put down the phone, when the Captain arrived by his side.

"Sir," he said with a quick salute, "The specialist team has finally arrived."

"Excellent," Grawl commented as he headed for the front door of the Korplog house, the Captain fell in beside him.

"What did the Prime Alpha say, sir?"

"He couldn't promise to grant me more powers, but he did promise more men and more guns." Grawl answered as he exited the door and into the light rain outside; pulling up the hood of his rain coat. "He said he doesn't want to make the people too suspicious of us." Grawl scoffed. "He wants the people to trust us."

"Are you okay sir?" The Captain asked. "You look a little steamed about something."

"Oh, just a guest we're getting," Grawl sighed. "I've been informed by the Prime Alpha that I'm to be at his complete disposal."

In the drive way, were three large airport vans, bulging with luggage and equipment. A few soldiers were helping unpack, while some civilians where busy with the equipment, making sure the rain didn't damage any of it.

They must be the specialists, Grawl mused to himself. Everyone of them, experts in their own fields. Electronics, physics, mathematics, linguists, exobiologists, and even an ethologist. He would've like to be happy to see them, but the majority would only be useful once the alien had been located and quarantined. The tech boys would be devouring the pod the moment they could get their rain gear unpacked.

"So who's this special guest sir?" The Captain asked. "And why is it you sound so..." He trailed off, as he thought for a moment, then turned back to the General with a shocked expression. "By the Rings, you don't mean...!"

"Grawl," a high pitched voice called out. Grawl grimaced as he looked over at the spot by the fence where the flag was standing, to see a rather short man wearing fedora hat, scarf and clenching a monocle between his right eye. He marched boldly up to the General almost half hidden even by the small umbrella he carried, looking him square in the eye as he spoke. "I'd say it's a pleasure to see you again, but I'd rather spend the weekend with my ex-wife than admit to that!" He came to a halt before the General, and took off his monocle to clean it of water.

"Dr. Kipple," Grawl said through clenched teeth. "You're here." It wasn't exactly a question.

"Oh cause I'm here you Jabbering Jackanape," Kipple responded, putting his monocle back where it belonged. "I won't bother with the formalities General, so let's just get on with our jobs, and maybe I won't have to put up with the hideous sculpture you call a face looking at me for any longer than necessary!"

The Captain rolled his eyes. "We don't have the alien yet, Dr." Grawl answered. "So maybe you can rest inside one of the vacant houses for a while, were it's nice and warm, and dry."

"Well, what do you know!" The Doctor exclaimed with exaggerated shock and a mock double take. "You can come up with a brilliant idea." He pointed an accusing finger at the General. "Don't let it go to your head." He then stepped to one side as if to walk past the General but came face to face with the Captain. "Move it, you Frightful Fractious Frump!" He snapped. The Captain stepped aside, allowing the Dr. to move on past, opening the front door to the Kroplog house and slamming it with a loud bang behind him.

Grawl looked at the closed door with dull surprise. "But that's... Where I'm...." He grunted loudly; the Captain shook his head in disgust.

"Great, off all the exobiologists in all the world, we get the Miserable Mental Midget," The Captain snarled.

"Kipple may be an eccentric egomaniac, Captain," Grawl said, "But he's the best we've got." He then gritted his teeth. "He's also in complete control of the Alien, once we capture it." The Captain looked shocked, before realising that Grawl must have been told this first hand.

"You mean, we'll have to take orders from him?!" Grawl didn't even bother answering that question.

Instead he just said, "I want a new house," before he spun off and walked away. The Captain's attention was diverted to the front entrance to the Korplog house as it was suddenly flung open.

"Uthlop!?" Kipple shouted. "Where are my bags!?"

"Coming Doctor!" A young tall man cried out, as he hurried across the yard, two overly stuffed suit cases slung under his arms.

***

The light ran ran down in streams across the window outside. Lem ignored them as he once again corrected Chuck with his sentence structures. Words were coming to him slowly, and sentences even slower, but it was still progress. Chuck was determined to get it right no matter how long it took him.

"Chuck want water?" Lem asked.

"Yes." Chuck answered, as Lem handed him a glass. "Thanking you," Chuck answered, taking the glass. He drank heavily from the glass, finishing it off quickly.

"Thirsty?" Lem asked.

"Thirsty?" Chuck quizzed. He thought about it, before he realised was Lem meant. "Yes, Chuck thirsty." He pulled at the collar of his bulky white suit. "Heat," he said, as he stood up and pulled down a zipper on his suit. Lem watched with wide eyes as Chuck then pulled both sides of the suit down, and stepped out. Underneath he wore a dark blue jump suit that covered not only his torso, but waist and legs.

"Why the Pit do you cover your legs?" Lem asked off the cuff. Chuck stopped to look at Lem with a quizzed expression.

He asked something in his own language before shaking his head. "No understand!" He said.

Lem pointed at his own legs. "Legs." He said slowly. Chuck repeated the words and the gesture before his eyes widened and he said the words again, obviously understanding it. Lem then grabbed Chuck's white suit and used it to hide his own legs. "Hide." He said, making sure Chuck watched him. He took the suit away. "Not hide." He repeated this a few times before Chuck finally realised what he meant.

"Hide legs...?" Chuck asked with a shrug. Lem nodded. Chuck laughed. "Cold." He said. "Legs, not heat. Cold." He then patted the leg coverings. "Not hide legs. Chuck cold." He then gave a quirky expression. "Not hide legs. Funny."

From what Lem could decipher, Chuck would get cold if his leg's weren't covered in cloth. He wasn't sure what that last sentence meant. What would be so funny about not hiding their legs? Pushing that thought aside, Lem began thinking about something else. This thing with the leg coverings was not only strange, it was interesting. Adding up from what little he knew about biology, he realised that Chuck is warm blooded, not cold blooded like normal people.

Lem rubbed his chin. "Fascinating," he murmured. Another thought crossed Lem's mind. "Chuck?" He waited until he was sure the alien was paying attention to him. "Chuck," Lem said pointing to him. He then pointed at the ground and asked, "here?" He then shrugged. Chuck looked confused, so Lem repeated it. Chuck still didn't get it.

"Chuck know not." He said. "Here?" He pointed at the ground. Lem waved his arms in the air around him.

"Here." Lem said. "Chuck... here?"

"Here?" Chuck's eyes widened. "Here! Big! See! Chuck come see...!" He stumbled a bit. He then mimed someone looking around, surveying something. "Chuck come here... Good."

"Good?" Lem asked.

"Good!" Chuck repeated. "Lem good. Chuck good. Here, good." Suddenly, it hit Lem. Chuck was trying to explain why he came to the Planetarium. Good. Big. See. Chuck miming someone looking into the distance. Chuck must've come here because it gave a view of the whole town so he could see what was going on. So did that mean that the 'good' comment meant Chuck believed the Planetarium to be safe?

Interesting, but it was not the question Lem had asked.

"No, Chuck, no." Lem said. He picked up a ball, and placed it on the desk. He moved a coffee cup to the other side of the desk. He then picked up the pen and held it up to Chuck. "Chuck," he said, pointing at the alien and then at the pen. "Chuck." He then placed the pen on top of the ball, and lifted it off like a rocket. He then arched the pen through the air, and coming down at the coffee cup. "Here," Lem said. He then turned to the alien and gave the shrugging motion.

"HERE!" Chuck almost shouted it, as he finally realised the question Lem was trying to ask. "Chuck come here. Chuck see! Chuck see Lem...!" He trailed off as he struggled to find words.

Lem was surprised. "You came to see me?" Chuck was confused, but he shook his head, realising he didn't get the answer across. He pushed past Lem to grab the ball and pen.

"Chuck," he said, repeating the arching movement of the pen from the ball to the coffee cup. "Chuck come here." He pointed at the ball. "Chuck." He then pointed at the coffee cup. "Lem."

"Oh, planets!" Lem said.

"Chuck come here, see Lem oh planets!" Chuck said. Lem gave a small laugh and corrected chuck. "Chuck come to see Lem's Planet." Chuck repeated the exact same sentence Lem had said.

"Why?" Lem asked. When Chuck didn't respond, he shrugged. A motion Chuck was fast becoming familiar with.

"Why," Chuck tasted the word; then said, "See. See Lem's planet." He looked about the room. He pointed at the desk. "See desk!" He pointed at the ball. "See ball." He pointed at the window. "See window." He turned back to Lem and gave a huge sag of his shoulders. "See all."

"Explore..." The word flowed off Lems tongue. Chuck repeated the word. Lem mimed someone picking up objects and examining them. "Explore."

"Yes. Chuck explore." He then placed his head in his hand and sighed loudly, before launching into his alien dialect. Lem managed to calm him down, before Chuck tried talking once more. "Bad. Many Chuck am bad!" As he spoke, he pointed at the ceiling.

"Am bad?" Lem asked. Chuck nodded.

"Lem's. Many Lem's, here. Many Chuck's, know not. Many Chuck's know not, many Lem's here." He pointed at the ground. "Many Chuck's am bad." Lem scratched his head at that response.

"Your, people didn't know my kind were here!?" Lem asked. Chuck just cocked his head to one side. Slowly, he said, "Chuck's people, know not, Lem's people here?"

"People," Chuck said. He then pointed at Lem. "People?" Lem nodded. Chuck thought for a moment, then did a double take, before he pointed at himself. "Human." He said.

"Human?" Lem said. Chuck pointed at himself.

"Human," he then pointed at Lem. "People." Lem nodded. Chuck returned the nod, then slowly added, "Humans know not, people's here."

"You mean you had no idea we were here!?" Chuck looked confused, before Lem repeated it in words Chuck could understand. Chuck nodded, and Lem burst out laughing.

"Humans see... not people." He seemed to be stumbling over the words. "Humans see... not." He shrugged. "Not."

"See not?" Lem frowned. What did that mean?

"Humans see not. Know not people's here. Humans am bad."

That confused Lem. Humans am bad? Lem thought for a moment, then came up with an idea. "Do you mean, humans made mistake?" Chuck looked at Lem, and Lem picked up the coffee cup and pretended to drink from it, only to accidentally drop it at the last moment. Lem then mimed surprise before looking up at Chuck and pointing at the fallen cup. "Mistake!" Lem said.

"Yes!" Chuck said. "Humans made mistake. Know not people's here. Humans see not. Mistake." He then chuckled as he pointed at Lem. "See people's. Chuck... Surprise. Chuck run. Come here!" He frowned. "People's... Chuck." He pretended to shoot a gun. "Bad. Chuck know not why? Chuck run. Run here."

It was Lem's turn to burst out laughing. Chuck looked surprised. "Eckle," Lem said between gasps for breath. "That was my little brother."

"Ec-kle?" Chuck asked, while he mimed the shooting action. Lem nodded. "Eckle bad?" Chuck asked.

"No, no!" Lem interrupted. "Eckle, Good. Eckle funny." This seemed to confuse Chuck even more. Lem sighed. "How am I going to explain the concept of family to you?"

"Lem?" Both were startled by the sudden voice from outside.

"Oh Pit!" Lem snarled as he recognised the voice. "It's Dad." Then he added, "What's he doing here!?"

"Dad?" Chuck asked. "Dad bad?"

"No," Lem said, "No, Dad good! Dad..." He waved the question away in frustration, unable to find the words to properly explain it. "Chuck.... Hide!" Lem said, Chuck nodded, as he suddenly grabbed the space suit and covered his legs with it. Lem snarled in frustration, and pushed Chuck away from the office door. "No! Hide Chuck, not hide legs!"

Lem quickly left Chuck standing by the professors desk, and then exited the office. Lem Dad was standing in the main entrance of the Planetarium, holding an umbrella in one hand. He looked over at the office as Lem exited, carefully closing the door behind him.

"Hey dad," Lem said, walking over to his father, "What's up? Why are you here?"

His father sighed in relief, then said, "I'm here because of your worried mother, that's why!"

"What?" Lem did a double take, then slapped his forehead in frustration. "Arrrggh! I was supposed to call her when I got here!"

"Exactly," his father replied. "When you didn't call, she started to panic. She tried ringing here but all the phone lines are jammed. That made her even more worried, and she was starting to get a little hysterical!" Lem moaned in frustration. His mother was always like that. "So I told her that I'd drive over to check up on you, and that calmed her down." He paused. "A little."

"Jesse, I'm sorry dad," Lem apologised. "I just got caught up in work, and... I lost track of time." He threw his arms up in the air in defeat. "The moment I got here, Professor Olgos rang, and told me the place will be shutting down until further notice, and I was a little steamed at that, then I figured I'd do some work and..."

"Slow down," his father interrupted, "You're rambling." He sighed. "Well, I'm just glad you're alright, let's call your mother." He looked around. "Where's a phone?"

"The office..." Lem said as he thumbed towards the professor's office and cut himself off, but it was already too late as his father made a bee line for the office. "Wait! Dad, no!" His father stopped dead in his tracks.

"What's wrong?"

"Umm," Lem looked for an excuse. "The phones not working." His father gave him a puzzled look.

"But I thought you said the Professor called you?"

"Uhhh, did I?" Lem asked. His father's look become one of suspicion.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I... don't know," Lem replied.

His dad gave him a hard look. "Did you do something in there?" He asked.

"No, dad, I haven't stolen anything!"

The look hardened even more. "I didn't accuse you of stealing anything, Lem." He turned at pushed open the door with a determined look. "What's in here?"

"Dad WAIT!" Lem cried out, pushing past his father as they both bowled into the office. It was empty. Chuck was nowhere to be found.

"What?" His father demanded. "I'm getting a bizarre sense of Deja vu here, Lem. Like the good ol' days!" He crossed his arms, and Lem could see the anger rising in his face. "What have you done, and DON'T you dare lie to me!"

"Uhhh," Lem looked around the office. What had happened to Chuck? Well he was obviously hiding, but where? "Well, uhh...." Lem trailed off, unable to think of a lie; Or at least a credible one. His father tapped his foot with impatience, before looking around the room.

"I'm waiting?"

"I just... Well I... Don't know," Lem muttered.

"Got something you shouldn't have?" His father demanded. Lem just stared blankly back at him. "Fine," his father said, stalking towards the cupboard. "Then let's have a look around, shall we?"

"Dad, NO!" Lem shouted. His father turned to face his son, his hand on the door knob. "Uhhh, yeah, dad," Lem turned to face his father. He'd finally come up with a good lie that he knew would get his father to leave the office. "I have tobacco." His father's face turned deadly.

"Tobacco?!" He nearly shouted. "Lem you told me you weren't keeping that stuff any more!"

Lem hurried over to the professor's desk, to the middle draw on the right, where the professor kept his tobacco. He sighed as he pulled open the draw, and took out the neatly wrapped contraband and gave it to his father. His dad snatched from his hand and glared down at it.

"Is this what you were really staying back here for?" His dad demanded.

"No, dad!" Lem said, "I'm not lying about wanting to hang around here and work. I love this place, that's the truth."

"Just like the truth that you'd given this stuff up?" he waved it right under Lem's face.

"Yes, I mean no!" Lem cried out. "Look... It was just a one off thing, dad. I swear!"

His father gave him a long hard look. For a few moments in time, no one moved. "Come straight back home after you've finished here, Lem," he said as he stalked towards the office door. "We'll finish this discussion then." He turned to look at his son as he opened the door. "With your mother!" Lem winced, as the door slammed shut.

He just stood there, listening to the sound of his father's foot steps receding away, and finally, the main door closing. For a few minutes he just stood there.

Something touched his right leg, and Lem screamed, jumping backwards. Chuck was behind him, half behind the desk, with a concerned look on his face. So that's where Chuck had been hiding. Under the big oak desk.

"Dad, go?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah," Lem snarled, "Dad, go!" He stalked over to the door, and left the office. He walked a few feet, before kicking an empty metal buck clear across the room where it landed on the steps, before bouncing all the way back down. Lem threw his head back and cursed as loudly as he could. His whole body then sagged, before he shuffled over to sit on the stairs, kicking the back out of the way once again.

"Lem?" He looked up to see Chuck looking out from the office. "Lem good?" He asked.

"No!" Lem snapped back. "Not good. Lem NOT good." Chuck nervously laced his fingers together, before slowly walking over to Lem.

"Dad, bad?"

"No, dad not bad!" Lem snapped. "Dad..." He swiped at the air in frustration. "Oh, what do YOU care! You're just an alien. How could you possibly know what I've been through!?" Chuck hesitated a little.

"Chuck... know Lem... good." He said. Lem blinked in surprise.

"Did you... Understand everything I just said?" Chuck shrugged his shoulders, and it was then Lem realised he'd already taught the meaning of the word, 'Know' to Chuck. He must have heard him say the word before.

"Chuck know Lem good. Lem good teach. Lem good... to...? Chuck!" Lem just scoffed loudly, before blowing a tentacle out of his face. "Lem hide Chuck. Lem good!"

"I guess I am," Lem muttered. "But for once, I'd like to hear that coming for my folks." He jumped to his feet and started pacing. "For once, just ONCE, I wish dad could say, that he's proud of me, or at least tell me what a great job I'm doing." He paused, before turning back to stare long and hard at Chuck. "Why the Pit did I hide you from him?"

"Hide Chuck?" Chuck asked. "Lem good."

"So you say," Lem laughed. "I could've shown him to you, he could've called the army, they would've come and taken you away, and I'd probably be a hero." He laughed again, before turning back to Chuck. "Why didn't I?"

"Why?" Chuck looked nervous and confused. "Chuck know not! Lem...?"

"Lem just ranting," he replied, walking back over to his seat on the steps. Chuck repeated the 'ranting' word followed with a gesture that clearly indicted he was looking for a translation. For a split second, Lem thought about just replying with a rude gesture but quickly decided against it; partly for fear Chuck might mistake the word with the gesture.

"Oh, just forget it," Muttered getting up. "Look, I'd better finish up what I was supposed to do in the first place, then I'd better get home." He paused as his face sagged. "To my funeral." He picked up the empty bucket and headed back to his cupboard office.

Chuck watched him go with a worried look. "Lem... Teach Chuck now?" He asked.

"Not now," Lem snapped back, causing Chuck to take a step back. Lem sighed. "Look, Chuck good. Lem.... Lem angry."

"Angry?" Chuck said. His face snapped back to Lem as if it suddenly dawned on him. "Lem... angry at... Chuck...?"

"No," Lem sighed. He placed a hand on Chuck's shoulder and patted it reassuringly. "Lem not angry at Chuck; Chuck good. Lem..." he trailed off, unable to find the explanation.

"Angry at dad...?" It was Chuck who said that. For a while, Lem wasn't sure how to respond to that. He was angry at his father. But he knew it was his own actions that got him into this mess in the first place.

"Lem... Angry at Lem." He said. That confused Chuck.

"Chuck know not," he said.

"Of cause you know not," Lem snarled. "So would you just stop interrogating me and let me do my job!" Chuck cringed visibly. "Sorry, Chuck," Lem said as he headed for the auditorium. "Lem has to work now. Do you understand? Work." Chuck tilted his head to one side.

"Sorry?" He asked. "Work?"

"Work," Lem said, "Chuck, watch! Chuck watch Lem work." Lem said, as he headed into the auditorium. Chuck sat in the far corner, as he watched Lem go about cleaning the vomit spot. He had come up close while Lem was working, but quickly left after the smell of the detergents proved too much.

Eventually, Lem finished all his work, with Chuck in the background scrutinising him with an eerie interest. He would squat in the distance, occasionally writing something down, or pointing a strange and small black box at him, that looked kind of like a TV camera; yet small enough to be concealed almost entirely in Chuck's hand.

After everything was packed away, Chuck finally came over to Lem and asked him in the best sentences he could string together if Lem was going to continue their language lessons. Lem had calmed down somewhat and politely told Chuck that he had to go home; or what he had hoped he'd translated as home. As Lem left the building he wasn't sure if Chuck though that Lem was going to home or to make a nest like Chuck had. Chuck had seemed rather nervous about Lem leaving, but had calmed down somewhat after Lem assured him he would be back tomorrow to continue their lessons.

Lem couldn't help but wonder what Humans used for beds, or even if they had them. The rain had finally stopped, and the now visible sun was starting to go down behind the hills as Lem mounted his bike and rode for home. He pushed the though out of his mind as he left the Planetarium behind, and began to focus on other problems; like the one he was going to have when he got home.

***

With a flick of a switch, the lights surrounding the alien pod flickered to life, bathing the craft in a bright white glow.

"Annnd, we have light!" A technician cried throwing both his arms into the air in triumph. The alien pod was now cordoned off with a barb wire electric fence and surrounded by soldiers armed with both anti-personal and anti-armour weapons. Now lights lit the whole area up, giving a daylight view of the pod and the area surrounding it.

Grawl watched as the specialists were allowed back into the fenced off section, to once again examine the pod. Or more importantly, the small hexagon shaped box on the side of the craft; The one with the strange yellow and black symbol. They all wore protective suits, for they all knew what lay within.

Radioactive materiel.

That meant the ship was powered by a nuclear reactor. It wasn't anything new. There were nuclear power plants all up and down the west coast that were far more powerful than the one on the alien pod.

That's what bothered Grawl. It wasn't the fact he was standing just a few feet away from a potential atomic bomb; but what it represented. People could easily construct such a devise that could produce exactly the same sort of power output; But the result would take up a multileveled building.

And here he was, looking at the same thing, that could fit into the back on a car boot. The technician's were having a field day; opening this and that. They'd managed to pull open one of the control panel's inside the pod, and they spent the rest of the day yaking back and forth at impossibly high speeds about the level of sophistication involved. The on-board computers could do practically everything but the laundry; The computers themselves were even more unbelievable. Grawl probably understood one in eleven words that were spoken by the Tech's, but from what he could gather, their computer's were even smaller than he thought possible.

The specialist's who's purpose was to examine the pod probably wouldn't be sleeping for at least 3 days; Too excited over everything the ship had to offer. Grawl sighed and wished he could share their enthusiasm. But he saw the big picture, the whole picture, not just what sat on somebodies front lawn. Two men were busy running a geiger counter over the atomic section of the pod, and marvelling at the almost non-existent level of radioactivity that could be picked up.

A few of the engineers were climbing in and out of the pod, sometimes carrying arcane objects or cameras; the source of the constant flashes from within the craft. All of them doing what they were sent here to do. Grawl had wanted to wait until they could transport the Pod back to Base 9, but with all heavy transport vehicles within at least three days travel of Glipforg tied up, it would have to wait. Until then, the pod would have to stay where it was, in plain sight.

"What marvellous creatures that they must be!" Grawl turned his head and to his surprise, realised that Kipple was standing just a few feet from him. He was observing the pod like a child might observe a large chocolate cake.

"Doctor?" Grawl asked.

"Yes, yes, I know you're there, General," Kipple interrupted, not bothering to look at him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to insult you. When I'm in my happy place, I usually am more sympathetic to people." He took a few steps towards the Pod. "To be able to come so far in such a short time space with their technology, and yet..." he trailed off. Grawl sighed; Kipple was spacing out again. Nothing new there. "I can't wait to get a good look at it's brain." Kipple clapped both his hands together.

"Doctor," Grawl said, "The Prime Alpha has instructed me to recover the alien alive, and that it is NOT to harmed."

"I know, I know," Kipple waved the comment away without even looking at the General. "But considering your profession, I would hardly expect you to be able to contemplate that with today's technology, we can look at it's brain without having to take it out." He turned to face Grawl this time. "Relax, General, I won't harm it; why would I?" He looked over at the reactor. "Small, but extremely powerful." He spun back to Grawl, a determined look in his eye. Grawl knew that look all too well. "Could you imagine it, General? We, with our superior brains compared with all known life, can be out done by mammals with brains half our size!?"

Grawl only slightly nodded. So Kipple understood the big picture as well. "I understand perfectly well, Doctor," he responded. Kipple nodded in response. Usually, such a comment from the General all but begged for an insult; but not now.

"So what else are they capable of?"

Before ether of them could answer, they were distracted by a kid, possibly seventeen, pushing his bike up the driveway, an army issued ID tag around his neck. He watched the two men with interest and they watched him. He slowly pushed his bike past them, and into the garage, which was full with radio equipment, scanners, and even a small portable radar transmitter.

***

Lem had to leave his bike outside the garage, mainly because there was no room inside for this bike, despite it's small size. He stole one last look at the two men, one very tall and the other very short, standing in his driveway; eyeing him with suspicious looks. It almost gave him the feeling they knew about his relationship with Chuck; or the trouble he was going to be in. He nodded and gave a quick smile, before walking in through the front door.

"Watch out!" Lem barely managed to leap aside as some tall guy rushed past him.

"What the-!?" Lem looked around, to see boxes piled up in the living room. Soldiers were busy tapping some of them up, while others were taking the sealed ones out the back. "Well," Lem sighed, "I guess we jumped on the band wagon."

"Not exactly," Lem turned to see his father carrying a box. "We're just moving until the army gives the all clear. We're not leaving town." Lem just nodded. "We're being moved to the new housing development east of the park," his father said. "It's only until it's deemed safe to come back here. Most of this stuff is just going into storage, not coming with us."

"Right," Lem said, "Do you want me to help?"

"No, no," his father said with the shake of his head. "Your mother and I wish to have a lengthy discussion with you; in the kitchen." Lem grimaced, and shuffled into the kitchen, hid father close on his heals.

It was as Lem suspected; a dressing down. His mother just shook her head and didn't say a word, while his father did all the ranting. The thing that hurt him the most was his mothers silence. Hysterical screaming he could take, but the expression on her face... Betrayal. But what could he say? 'Hey Mom, Dad, I've been hiding the alien that everyone's looking for.' It was too late to tell the truth now, and especially with all the army personal present; he might end up in jail.

So instead he just took it up the rear. He honestly thought he was going to get grounded but he wasn't. Possibly because his folks knew that in the past that had meant as much as dirt to him, and since they believed he was slipping back into his old habits, he would ignore that order too.

Just as well; Neera. He was still going out with her. And there was Chuck.

How was he going to work this one out. His dad knew the place was closed down until further notice, so how could he convince his folks that he wasn't up to no good? It would be impossible. His dad would most likely suspect something right away, and actually ground him. So what could he do? He'd promised Chuck he would be back tomorrow to help with more teaching.

Chuck.

He smiled as he found his thoughts drifting back to the alien. As a child, Lem had spent some time, staring up at the Great Rings, pretending that he could touch them, and the stars beyond. He'd spent the better half of a year, working in a field that would allow him to study the rings; and those shimmering stars beyond. Now one of those stars was here, stranded and totally dependent on him.

He shook his head. No, he was doing this for himself. Once he was good and ready, he'd get a hold of of one of the hundred news stations that were here and show off Chuck to the whole world. Everyone would want to know about the kid who captured the alien. Maybe even sell the movie rights. Lem grinned.

But there was something else. A little something, nagging at the back of his mind; something that felt wrong. He frowned. Was he feeling guilty about his plans for Chuck? "He's just an alien," Lem muttered. "Why should I care?" He thought about what he'd said. Did he really care about Chuck? And why didn't he just tell his father the truth?

Lem grunted loudly, as he readied himself for bed.

***

The streets were eerily quite that night; deserted of all life. A few leaves tumbled head over heals as they blew down the street. The houses were dark and empty, many were boarded up with wooden planks.

Over the whistle of the wind, a small whirring sound echoed down the street. A strange rectangular box shaped object on wheels weaved across the main road as it drove down the street, it's sphere like head turning from side to side, observing the many empty houses that lined the road on ether side.

It stopped at a 'T' intersection and looked both ways, before heading off to the right. It screeched to a halt as the radio antenna on it's back suddenly rose into the air. The creature cocked it's round head to one side as it began to pick up radio singles.

C:\ATTEMPTEING RECOGNITION…

C:\RECOGNITION…

C:\RECOGNITION…

C:\RECOGNITION…

C:\RECOGNITION FAILED… PLEASE STAND BY

The on board AI calculated the information before recording a few segments of the radio transmission and storing it on it's hard drive. It then continued down the road observing the empty houses; stopping now and then to record the many radio transmission's that it's antenna could pick up. As it rose up a hill, it came within full view of the town below, and stopped. It's antenna was picking up a new transmission. Something different. Something familiar.

It turned it's whole body towards the source of the broadcast; a large dome shaped building high up on a hill, overlooking the whole town. A large telescope protruded from it's roof aimed directly up at the night sky. The creature's lens zoomed in on the telescope, and watched, as it moved slightly.

The single grew stronger.

C:\ATTEMPTEING RECOGNITION…

C:\RECOGNITION…

C:\RECOGNITION…

C:\RECOGNITION…

C:\RECOGNITION SUCCESSFUL… STAND BY FOR INDENTIFICATION…

C:\INDENTIFICATION CODE: 'ODYSSEY'

Odyssey. The instant the word computed it set off a chain reaction within the creature's central possessor.

C:\MEMORY BANKS...

C:\MEMORY BANKS... LOADING... LOADING...

C:\LOADING SUCCESSFUL... STAND BY FOR REBOOTING...

C:\ATTEMPTEING REBOOTING PROCEDURE…

C:\REBOOTING…

C:\REBOOTING…

C:\REBOOTING…

C:\REBOOTING SUCCESSFUL… PLEASE STAND BY WHILE HARDWARE RELOADS

The creature abruptly shut down, collapsing in the street, while faint lights flickered within. Then, it's single lens like eye flashed; followed by a slow and steady hum that built up to series of struggling whining sounds. And just as it all started, it abruptly stopped.

The creature then jolted it's head up. It looked again over in the direction of the domed building, before turning about, and zooming straight for it.

C:\LOADING SUCCESSFUL... INDENTIFICATION CODE: 'ODYSSEY'

C:\STAND BY FOR INSTRUCTIONS... LOADING... LOADING...

C:\LOADING SUCCESSFUL... MOUNT C H:\MISSION

H:\MISSION\DIR/W

DIRECTORY OF H:\MISSION\.

[PROTOCA~1] RUNDATA1.000 RUNDATA2.000 RUNDATA3.000

RUNDATA4.000

10 FILE(S) 24,348,325 BYTES.

1 DIR(S) 110,540,800 BYTES FREE.

H:\

H:\[PROTOCA~1]\

H:\LOADING SUCCESSFUL... PLEASE STAND BY...

It began to run over the orders that came up, drinking in every detail, until it encountered something that confused it.

H:\[PROTOCA~1]\_SPCORDR~

'Special Orders.' It stopped in it's tracks as it attempted to open the file; accompanied by a low humming sound.

H:\[PROTOCA~1]\_SPCORDR~... PLEASE STAND BY...

H:\LOADING...

H:\SYSTEMS_ERROR\H:\SPCORDR~... ACCESS DENIED.

The humming sound was abruptly cut off, but the creature didn't care. It's AI was programmed to explore and learn. Exploring unidentified programming within it's own software was an oversight it's creators failed to contemplate. Once again, the humming sound began to build up.

H:\[PROTOCA~1]\_SPCORDR~... PLEASE STAND BY...

H:\LOADING... LOADING... LOADING...

H:\SYSTEMS_ERROR\H:\SPCORDR~... ACCESS DENIED.

H:\[PROTOCA~1]\_SPCORDR~... PLEASE STAND BY...

H:\LOADING... LOADING... ERROR ERROR

The creature shook violently accompanied by a high pitched screech, and went into a backwards end to end spin which caught it by surprise. As it's uncontrolled flight came to an abrupt end by smashing into a trash can, it quickly computed that the program which it was trying to activate had some sort of security lock on it, in case somebody tried to activate it without proper clearance. The attempt at hacking had caused a malfunction in it's own gyroscopic programming; causing a temporary loss of control.

It's own self preservation orders kicked in, and it now knew not to try that again; should something far much more worse happen. The special orders would have to wait until proper clearance was authorised.

It looked back up at the domed building, before driving off in that direction.

***

**AN: ** _What ever it is with this program on fanfiction , it will NOT accept all the computer talk that I've been typing so all of Rover's prompt commands come out edited and unreadable. Again, i appologise for this._ _If you can't make out what's happening, I'm sorry. PS, this program is SOOOOO picky it will not allow you to even put the 'DOT' in fanfiction DOT net.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** _Thanks one and all for the reviews. Sorry for the late update. Been busy. So anyway, Enjoy!_

***

There was a knock at the door. Lem blinked the sleep out of his eyes, before sitting up. The door opened before he could even give permission to open the door. His father looked through the door.

"We're getting ready to leave." He said. "I want you down stairs in five minutes to help load everything up, okay." It wasn't a request. Lem just nodded. His father nodded back and closed the door.

Lem was on automatic as he shuffled about, getting ready, before heading downstairs to help the family move out. The whole downstairs area was packed with men in uniforms, all moving about, to and fro.

"Here." Lem turned around just in time to grab hold of a box that his father thrust into his arms. "That that out to the car." And he was gone. Lem sighed as he headed out the front door to see their car already loaded up with boxes, awaiting their leave. Lem saw his mother packing away some pillows in the back seat. She turned to see him, and turned away, heading back into the house.

Lem just shook his head and sighed as he loaded the box into the open boot. "You can take just one thing that you wish to carry with you," Lem turned to see his father standing behind him. "Just one. Nothing else, and that doesn't go there, it goes here!" He snapped, pushing past Lem to correctly store the box he'd just packed.

"Thanks," lem muttered with a sarcastic smile that his father didn't see. He turned around and headed back up to his room to get the only thing he wanted to take with him. His telescope. He carried it with him as he climbed into the back seat, along with Eckle, and then the whole family pulled out of the driveway and down the street.

"So long, house," Eckle waved good-bye as they drove down to the check-point and were waved on through.

The drive didn't take too long at all. It was only half an hour and they were there. The new housing development east of the park. A few families had moved in there and were unloading what few boxes they'd packed up. He saw his father struggling with a large box in the boot.

"Here Dad," Lem said holding out his arms. "Let me help you with that."

"I'm fine," his father, "You go help your moth..." He lost his grip.

"You need help!" Lem forcefully said as he grabbed one side of the box. "Wether you want it or not, you need me!" He fixed his father with a determined stare.

"Fine," his father said, "Grab that end, and take it into the living room." Lem nodded and together the two eased the box out of the boot, and into their temporary house till the Rings knew when.

It was a small living room compared with their old one. All the new housing that had gone up was small and quick. They then carefully lowered the box down and stood up, looking directly at each other.

"Thanks, son," His father said, before walking off.

"You're welcome dad," Lem called out after him. He smiled as his father disappeared out the front door. Well, he was slowly starting build back up that trust again. Slowly. It was going to be a long road, considering the lie he told to prevent him from discovering Chuck. Or at least until he was ready to reveal Chuck.

He quickly hurried back out the front door, determined to help with more boxes.

"...From then on!" Lem heard the end of a conversation his father was having with one of their new neighbours as he exited the house. The man was carrying a large flat box with his father's name on it.

His father nodded. "So where are we going to be setting up?"

"We've got power plant duty," the man responded, handing his father the box. "We need you there by noon."

"Got it," he said, as the man walked off. He turned around to face Lem.

"Guard duty?" Lem asked.

"Yes," his father answered, walking past him. "Which mean you're going to have to be the man of the house while I'm gone."

"You mean you actually trust me again?" Lem asked hopefully.

"No," his father replied flatly. "But Eckle is too young, and you know what your mother is like." Lem stifled a chuckle. "So I'm stuck between the Pit and the Perilous Green Sea." Lem made a face which his father couldn't witness. He then turned around to face his son. "You're in charge now, Lem, don't make me regret it. Again."

Then he was gone.

Lem wasn't sure what to make of it. He picked up another box, and headed back into the living room. It wasn't long before everything was inside, and the unpacking began. His mother quickly took over that, not because she didn't trust Lem, but because she had a place for everything. It was what she did.

"Look honey," his father said once they were nearly finished. "I've got to go, I can't stay any longer. They'll be waiting for me."

"Take care, honey," his parents kissed before heading out the door.

"Look after your self, Dad!" Lem called out. He chuckled. Thankfully he knew there was nothing to worry about. Chuck was still at the Planetarium, while his Dad would be guarding the power plant; on the other side of town.

The box he was carrying slipped through his fingers to crash on the floor. Chuck! He glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was an hour till noon. By the Pit, he'd totally forgotten about Chuck. He promised the alien he'd come back the next day to continue their language lessons. Damn.

He quickly looked about. No one had spotted him drop the box, and nobody came in the ask him if he was alright. Then again, nobody ever did. Throwing that thought aside, he'd need to come up with an excuse to get over to the Planetarium. But how?

He could say he was going to see Glar. But his mother knew Glar's phone number, and could check up on him. He had to think.

"Lem?" He turned to face Eckle who seemed to be smiling back at him, very nervously. "A-are you doing anything today?" He shuffled forward a bit.

Lem's eyes narrowed. "Why?" He asked with suspicion.

"I was wondering..." His voice trailed off in a low mumble. Lem asked him to repeat it, and Eckle suddenly cried out, "Will you take me to see Skiff?"

Lem almost did a double take. "What? Why!"

"I haven't seen him since before the alien landed!" Eckle cried out, holding up his hands in self defence. "I just want to see if he's okay. And maybe talk about the alien."

Lem grunted held out a single finger under Eckle's face, ready to give it to him, when he paused. "Just to see Skiff, right?"

"Uh-huh!" Eckle nodded. "Mom won't let me go into town by myself."

"Yet she'll let you go with ME?" Eckle half nodded.

"I guess she thinks if you're looking out for me, you won't get into trouble your self." Lem just rolled his eyes. The hilarity of the situation. His parents didn't trust him by himself, but they trusted him to look after his younger brother by himself. If there was any irony in that situation, Lem couldn't see it.

But Lem was busy thinking about something else. He hadn't thought about it earlier, but it wasn't until Eckle mentioned the alien, that it hit him. He could leave Eckle with Skiff. Then he could go over to the Planetarium and see to Chuck.

"Okay," Lem said, leaning back and placing his hands on his hips. "I'll take you to see Skiff."

"But...?" Eckle asked.

"Huh?"

"There's always a BUT with you," Eckle said.

"I leave you with Skiff, and and I come home."

"You're trusting SKIFF, to look after ME?" It was Eckle's turn to nearly double take. "But Lem, you said..."

"I said, I said," Lem waved the question away with the flick of his wrist. "Look Eckle, what's Skiff been talking about all these years?"

"Aliens?"

"Exactly, so WHO would know what to do in case you encounter the alien?" Eckel's eyes widened with realisation.

"Skiff!" He cried out.

"Right," Lem said, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Not me, Skiff. So, can I trust Skiff to look after you until it's time to come home, right?"

"Right!" Eckle nodded enthusiasticly.

"But you'd better just keep this between you, me and Skiff. Don't tell ether mom or dad." Eckle frowned.

"Why?"

"Do you honestly think they'll like the idea of Skiff watching out for you?" Eckle thought for a moment. His parents hadn't spoken too highly of Skiff.

"Good point." Eckle agreed.

"Great," Lem said, "So come on, let's go."

***

There were sandbags arranged in a defensive perimeter -- as if someone where preparing for a final last stand -- in front of Haglogs Comic Shop as they approached the store from across the street. Lem was surprised. Surprised that there weren't any barb wire, or land mines. He chuckled as he approached the door which plainly said they were closed and entered.

The sound of a gun being powered up, echoed as the door jingled. "Identify your selves!" Skiff demanded, half hidden from behind the front desk. A see-through plastic toy ray gun pointed out in front, while Skiff's bulging eyes cowered beneath a steel Great War helmet that was way too big even for him.

"Don't shoot!" Eckle cried, quickly putting himself between Lem and Skiff. "Skiff, it's us!"

"Eckle?" Skiff stood up, then looked at Lem, before aiming the gun right between his eyes. "Hold it right there," he then leaned over and hissed, "Alien!"

"Skiff?" Eckle asked. Lem just yawned.

"There's no way the REAL Lem would be here on his own free will," Skiff answered, picking up the lid of a trash can as he stalked closer to Lem. "There for, he must be the alien in disguise! Remember, they did the exact same thing in first Humanicas 2! They take over your mind, and turn you into one of their alien zombie slaves!"

Lem just blinked back, expressionless, before looking down at the toy gun in Skiff's hands. He so much wanted to slap Skiff in the face for his stupidity. But he knew that would just get him into trouble. 'He hit Skiff,' everybody would say. 'That's proof that Lem hasn't changed at all!'

"Well," Lem said instead. "I'll just leave you two alone, do what ever it is, you guys do," he headed for the door.

"Not so fast, zombie!" Skiff warned, sticking the muzzle of the gun into the back of Lem's skull. "You're not going anywhere."

By the Great Rings, was this guy for real? Lem's eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he sighed. "Skiff," Eckle pleaded, "Lem's not a zombie, he really did take me here of his own free will."

"A likely cover story," Skiff said, "The way I see it, he's just getting rid of potential witnesses while he goes and dose his bidding for his alien master!" Lem bit his bottom lip. That comment was far too close to the truth than he wanted it to be. He had to get to Chuck, but Skiff was busy being Skiff, and wasting his time. Thankfully though, Skiff being Skiff, meant that he was still Skiff.

"Hey look Eckle," Lem said, turning around and looking over Skiff's shoulder. "One of those cheap baby toys looks like the alien pod." Skiff's face almost exploded.

"C-c-cheap baby TOYS!?!" Lem smiled in triumph. The gun vanished to be replaced by a single finger, hovering just below his chin. "I'll have know these are NOT 'Cheap Baby Toys,' they're highly detailed and finely crafted adult models. Not ment for little kids!" Skiff then turned to to frame a red and blue robot that transformed into a truck with his fingers. "Take this one here for example. This Trans..."

By this time, Lem had used the distraction to leave the building, the door muffled whatever else Skiff had to say as it closed behind him. Eckle would be okay in Skiff's care. Skiff may have been a few waves short of a shipwreck, but he was not irresponsible.

***

It was early afternoon by the time Lem finally reached the Planetarium. He carefully approached the front doors, unlocked them, and pushing them aside, walked inside. The lobby was empty. Exactly as he left it.

"Chuck?" He called out. "Lem! It's Lem!" There was no response. He let the doors close behind him. "Chuck?" He still got no response. By the Rings, had Chuck gone looking for him? Had Chuck thought that he'd betrayed him and high tailed it out of here? He called out the alien's name again, with no response.

He was hit by a sudden thought. What if Chuck was planning something for him? What if he really WAS planning to make Lem his slave, or take him apart... Lem shook his head. "By the Rings, I'm starting to think like Skiff!" He growled.

Then again, where was Chuck? He opened the doors to the auditorium. Empty. Chuck's Nest lay where it was, a tangle of rugs and sheets. He headed into the office. Nothing there. Finally, he tried the observatory room.

Chuck was standing up by the telescope, doing... something. Lem couldn't quite make it out, but there was something else. Chuck wasn't still as he stood. His head moved from side to side, while his hips swayed slowly.

Curiosity slowly spread over Lem as he called out Chuck's name. Chuck didn't respond, instead he just keep at it; whatever it was. Lem shouted his name and still nothing. Finally, he walked around the side of the telescope to where he could see Chuck's face and waved to him. At first, Chuck froze, then spun around, drawing that small black gun of his. He stood there, panting heavily, before lowering the gun.

"Lem?" He asked.

"Yes Chuck," Lem answered. "It's me, Lem."

"Lem!" Chuck cried out, as he pulled something from his ears, and jumped down the stairs to greet him. He paused, then placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward. "Where Lem? Lem gone, long."

"Busy," Lem said, "And it's a long story." He then grabbed Chuck by the arm, and led him towards the exit. "Teach now? Lem teach Chuck now?" Chuck looked over his shoulder, back up at the telescope. He shook his head.

"No," he said. "Chuck busy."

That caught Lem by surprise. "Chuck busy?" He said. "Chuck busy doing what?"

"Chuck use to see! Chuck see Flying Saucer!" Lem did a double take.

"What!?" Chuck motioned him over to the telescope.

"Lem, see!" He said, so Lem walked up and looked into the telescope. The stars where up there, along with something else. There was a white object, just barely visible in his field of vision. Lem would've leaned closer if the telescope would've allowed him too.

"What is that?" Lem asked.

"Flying Saucer!" Chuck said. "Chuck's Flying Saucer!" He pointed up the length of the Telescope towards the sky. "Flying Saucer bring Chuck to Lem's Planet."

Flying Saucer? "I never taught you that word," Lem said, while Chuck just looked back at him, confused, obviously not understanding what Lem had just said. "Chuck," Lem asked. "Where Chuck Teach word, 'Flying Saucer?'"

Chuck said something in his own language, and pointed over by the long table where notes and maps lay. On the table lay an opened up magazine, to an advertisement for an up and coming Sci-Fi movie, "Invasion of the Flying Saucers." Half the add was taken up by a massive alien ship, hovering high up in the sky. Lem scoffed loudly. So THAT'S how Chuck learned that word.

"Lem," Chuck asked, as he pointed past his shoulders, "What that?" A radio sat on the table. He said the human word again.

"Radio?" Lem asked, walking over and picking it up. Chuck nodded, and repeated the word.

"Lem teach Chuck radio?"

"Okay," Lem said. "Radio off." He held it up and pointed to the speaker, making sure that Chuck knew it was off. Chuck repeated the phrase, and Lem pointed to the volume knob. "Radio on." He clicked it on, and music came out. Chuck cocked his head to one side, approaching Lem.

"What?" He asked.

"Music," Lem said. "You know, dance?" He bopped his head and swayed in time with music. Chuck gave the radio a funny look.

"Music?" He looked at Lem who was dancing and back again. "That music?" He laughed. "Music not good."

"Huh?" Lem asked. "No understand," Lem said. "Music not good?"

"Music... sound..." He struggled to find the words and just shrugged and finished the sentence in his own language. "People music sound funny." Chuck then reached to his belt where a small white object no bigger than the palm of his hand lay. "This good music. Human music." He held out a small white ball that was attached to a thin white line. Lem recognised it as one of the things that Chuck had taken out of his ears when he saw that Lem had arrived. So that's why Chuck couldn't here him. He was listening to human music.

Human music? Lem was curious, and took the thing, before slowly, placing it in his ear, much like Chuck had done. Chuck touched something on the white box and a small section glowed bright blue. Lem gazed in wonder, but suddenly jerked back as what sounded like screaming metal rocketed into his brain.

Lem cried out in alarm as he yanked the thing out of his ear and looked around in panic. "What the Pit was that!?" He gasped.

"Van Halen." Chuck said. Lem looked down at the thing, still in his hand. He raised it to his ear, but didn't put it inside, instead listening to the racket from a safe distance. All he could make out where the harsh barking sounds of Chuck's language, barely audible admits screaming sounds he'd never thought were possible to make.

"Human music, sound bad!" Lem said, and tossed the ear plug back to Chuck. Chuck laughed. "It sounds like somebody dying," Lem added. Chuck shrugged, still chuckling as he gestured for Lem to take the ear plug again.

"Different human music," he said. "Good human music." Lem shrugged and tempted fate again, this time holding the ear plug at a same distance. A new sound flowed out this time. Not the same screaming sound as before, but a series of control beats that sounded fast and soft, yet pleasant. Human language could still be heard, but more clearly this time.

Lem found himself listening. It was actually pretty catchy and he was tapping his foot to the beat before he knew it. "That's better," Lem said, then added, "Good human music."

"Buddy Holly," Chuck said. Whatever the pit that meant. Where Van Halen and Buddy Holly names for different human music styles?

"Lem like Holly music. Holly music good." Chuck shrugged and said something in human.

Lem was about to ask something, when he paused. Something that he should've realised earlier finally got through to him. "Hey, wait a minute!" He turned to Chuck. "How did you learn to read?"

"Read?" Chuck asked.

"How Chuck, learn read?" Lem asked, as he walked over to the magazine and picked it up. "Read." He pointed to the words and said the word again.

"Read!" Chuck said. "Rover!"

"What?" Lem asked.

"Rover teach Chuck read." Lem gave him a suspicious look.

"Who's Rover?"

"Come," Chuck said, waving him towards the telescope. "Lem come!" Lem allowed himself to be led towards the front of the telescope where a bunch of cables and wires where hooked up to the big telescope that where attached to... a box with wheels.

Wheels?!

The sphere on the box abruptly swung towards Lem and the single lens like eye narrowed. "Lem, Rover." Chuck said with a wave of his hand towards the thing. Lem blinked back at it, and it suddenly moved towards him.

Lem cried out in alarm, and Chuck shouted something that caused it to stop. It looked to Chuck, and then to Lem, before looking back at Chuck. Chuck began to bark commands at it, and it started reversing back to it's original spot. Lem followed the cables, as they ran up the length of the telescope, towards a funky looking antenna at the very end. What was Chuck using this thing for?

He looked down at the creature. What was it? "Chuck?" Lem asked. "What is it?"

"Rover," Chuck said. "Teach Chuck to read..." He said something else that disintegrated into alien babble. Was he describing the method Rover taught, or Rover it's self? Lem couldn't tell.

"Chuck, what are you doing with Rover?" Lem asked. Chuck looked confused, so Lem said the sentence again, much slower and easier for the alien to understand.

"Talk to Flying Saucer." Chuck said as he pointed towards the sky. Lem looked at where Chuck was pointing, before looking back through the telescope. The object in the sky was too small to make out any major details but there was something up there that looked as if it where manufactured.

"Talk?" Lem asked, then slowly added. "Are there more humans on your flying saucer?" Chuck thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"No," he answered. "Flying Saucer, have one human. Chuck." He pointed at the sky again. "Chuck talk to flying saucer. Not go. Stay. Hide. Not make..." his words were lost again and he grunted in frustration at the language barrier.

"Hey!" Lem suddenly cried, startling Chuck as he looked over at the wheeled creature. "Where the Pit did Rover come from!?"

"Rover here!" Chuck said, as he pointed at the ground. "Rover come here, Lem's planet. Chuck come here, Lem's Planet." Chuck used his hands to gesture someone coming, then something else coming behind it as he spoke.

"So, Rover came before you?" Chuck had that look he got when he was thinking about what Lem had said. Then he nodded.

"Rover... came before, Chuck."

"Why?" Lem asked.

"Rover, explore. Tell humans Lem's planet good, not bad." He shrugged. "Lem's planet bad, Chuck not explore. Lem's planet good, Chuck explore." Chuck's face melted into an expression Lem had never seen before. "Rover go... Rover here. Rover talk to humans. Later... Rover not talk to humans. Humans no understand."

"You mean... you lost contact?" That was a dozy trying to explain to Chuck what Lem meant, but Chuck, thank the Rings, was smart enough to put the missing pieces together.

"Yes, Humans lost contact with Rover." The alien then beamed at the sentence he strung together, while Lem patted his arm.

"WHEN humans make Rover explore?" Lem asked, emphasising on the 'when' so that Chuck understood the question.

"No not." Chuck said. " Lem's planet sun... move... not same. time... not same. Earth sun..." He lost himself among his native language again. Lem looked from Chuck back to Rover. The machine seemed to be studying him. There was a clicking sound, followed by another which sounded insanely like it was taking pictures.

"Chuck," Lem asked, pointing at the wheels. "Why Rover have wheels?" Chuck looked confused.

"No understand. What Wheels?" He asked. Lem reached forward slowly, keeping his eyes on the machine's rounded head, before pointing at the wheels. Lem repeated the word. "Wheels?" Chuck almost shouted the word. He suddenly burst out laughing surprising Lem. "Rover have wheels, Rover move with wheels. Rover not move with no wheels."

"Can't he just hover?" Chuck looked confused again. "Oh boy," Lem moaned. "Chuck, come," He said as he headed for the garage, taking Chuck with him. The garage could only be accessed from the outside, and knocking in a door, was one of the many things Professor Oglos had on his list of things to do.

Chuck was nervous walking around outside, he kept to the shadows as he walked, his head, darting nervously around. Despite Lem assuring him that no one was around, Chuck still proceeded nervously forward.

Lem unlocked the garage and opened it up, exposing the planetarium's wagon. Lem was caught off guard, as Chuck abruptly pushed past and made a bee-line for the wagon. He put a hand on it's surface, feeling it, before kneeling down on one knee, and looking underneath. He looked up again, and lowered his whole body to the ground, and slid underneath.

Lem followed, leaning over to get a good look at what Chuck was doing down there. The alien was feeling the the wagon's hover plate, and feeling the air between the ground and the plate as well.

Suddenly, Chuck pulled himself out from under the wagon, and stared with bewilderment at Lem. He pointed at the wagon and started his alien talk, much faster than Lem could follow.

"Chuck," Lem interrupted, "No understand? What you say?" Chuck snarled something as his fists clenched.

"Move!" Chuck said, "Move from ground." He pointed from the wagon to the ground. "How," he pointed at the wagon, "Move from ground?"

Lem rubbed his chin. "Car," Lem said, pointing to the wagon. Chuck repeated the word.

"How Car move from ground?" Chuck demanded, as he pointed from the ground, and slowly moved his hand up until it touched the underside of the wagon.

"Hover?" Lem asked. Chuck almost spat the word with excitement.

"How car hover from ground?" He asked.

Lem frowned, but shrugged. He reached under the car, Chuck following him with an eerie interest. "Hover plate," he said slowly, making sure Chuck understood as he taped the plate. Chuck looked back to Lem who repeated the phrase. Chuck suddenly pushed past Lem and felt around the plate, he then pulled himself up and began to feel around the car, looking for something.

"Open?" Chuck almost demanded of Lem. "How open car? Chuck see how car work."

"The engine?" Lem asked, as he popped the bonnet. Chuck nearly bowled him over looking inside. He leaned in real close, almost smacking face on the thing. He looked around, and poked this and that.

"Please, don't take that apart," Lem said. "I can't put that back together." Chuck ignored him as he leaned in so only his legs dangled out of the engine compartment. He jumped out and walked around to look at the dash board. His face showed a somewhat uninterested look as he looked back under the car, and then getting up, pushed down with all his might on the side.

The wagon rocked violently from the push, but refused to go all the way down. Chuck grunted something as he walked around to the other side, and repeated the experiment. Then, he climbed into the drivers seat and sat there, before leaning over the side. The wagon tilted with his weight, but didn't tip over. Chuck bounced a few times, and the wagon refused to ether drop to the ground or tip over.

Thank the Great Rings for that, Lem thought to himself, as Chuck climbed out and just stared at the hover plate. He kicked it lightly with his foot, before turning to Lem. "Hover plate?" He asked. Lem nodded, and repeated the word.

"Hover plate. Keep car UP from ground." Chuck looked back, before kneeling down and reaching his fingers under the wagon's bottom frame, started to tear off the plate. "NO!" Lem shouted, startling Chuck. "Chuck! No!" Lem yanked Chuck's arm away from the plate. "Bad! Chuck no do that!"

Chuck looked disappointed, but he removed his hands. "Sorry Lem," he said. "Chuck sorry. Chuck..." he stumbled over the words, "Chuck want... explore. See how hover plate work." He bowed his head. "Sorry."

"Come on," Lem said, taking Chuck by the arm, "Let's get you back inside."

"Lem teach Chuck?" The alien suddenly asked. "Lem teach Chuck how hover plate work?"

"Damn it, Chuck, I'm an Astronomer, not a mechanic!" Lem moaned. He saw Chuck's disappointed face. Even though the words were lost on him, he knew that Lem had basically said no. "Awww, come on! Don't look at me like..." He threw his arms into the air. "Fine," he said, "I'll get some books for you." He stopped. "Picture books." Chuck seemed to smile, knowing that Lem had agreed.

"Thanking you, Lem," Chuck said. "Thanking you for help Chuck. Lem good."

Lem smiled. "You're welcome Chuck." As they walked back inside, Lem paused. The front door was open. "Funny," Lem muttered as he walked over and closed it. "I don't remember leaving it open?"

Suddenly, Chuck's big hands were around his mouth. Lem's cry of surprise was muffled, before Chuck spun him around and put a single finger to his lips. Then he pointed over at the open door to the auditorium. Lem listened but he couldn't here a thing. Then, he heard it. The sound of things moving about. Items being dropped and someone shuffling on the carpet.

Chuck made a motion for Lem to follow as he pulled that black gun of his from his belt and crept over to the door, looking in. He looked about and turned back to Lem. "One people," he said, "Little." Lem looked in past Chuck. What light there was in the darkened room shone through in beams lighting up the area where Chuck had his nest.

Lem frowned as Chuck stalked into the room, then levelling the gun, cocked the hammer.

"No," Lem hissed, pulling Chuck's arm down. "Don't shoot!" Chuck looked confused, and who ever it was over by Chuck's stuff looked up, and screamed.

Chuck shouted something in his own language, shook his head, then shouted, "Freeze, police!" Lem would've laughed if the situation weren't so serious.

"What!?" The intruder cried back. Lem gasped.

"ECKLE!?" He shouted.

"Lem?" Eckle cried back.

"Eckle?" Chuck asked, then his eyes bulged and took aim again. Eckle shrieked and ducked as Chuck fired.

"Chuck, NO!" Lem screamed and this time, he tackled Chuck to the ground. "Eckle, good! Do you understand!? Eckle not bad! GOOD!"

"Eckle shoot Chuck!" The alien protested.

"Oh, for the Ring's sake, it was a stupid TOY!" Lem shouted, which only seemed to confuse Chuck. Lem looked back up to see Eckle's legs shaking visibly behind a seat. "Damn it!" He snarled, as he stormed over and pulled his little brother up to his feet.

The poor kid was on the verge of tears. "Don't kill me!" He sobbed. "Please, don't kill me!"

"Eckle, it's me, LEM!" The kid opened one eye, and then wrapped his arms around his older brother for all he was worth.

"It's okay," Lem said, patting his head softly. "You're not going to die, I promise." He looked back over at Chuck who had put his gun away and was slowly walking towards them. Eckle saw him and screamed. "NO, no!" Lem soothed him. "It's okay. He thought... you were going to attack him, that's all."

"Me?" Eckle cried out. "Attack HIM!?"

"He remembered you," Lem said. "He remembered your stupid stunt with the toy gun. He thought it was real." Eckle looked embarrassed. Suddenly, he reared back. "Hey, wait a second, what are YOU doing hanging out with the alien!?"

"Well, I found..." he trailed off, before pointed a finger back. "Hey, wait a second, what are YOU doing HERE!? Aren't you supposed to be with Skiff?"

"Well, uhh... About that," Eckle squirmed on the spot. "Skiff... Kinda convinced me... to follow you."

"What!?" Lem shrieked. "Dose Skiff...?"

"No," Eckle quickly cut in. "Well, not yet he doesn't."

"How did Skiff convince you to follow me?" Lem asked.

"He wasn't convinced himself that you would purposely let me hang out with him, considering the history of arguments you two have." Lem nodded. Part of him said 'I told you so,' that his half assed plan wouldn't work. "He was absolutely positive that you were being mind controlled by the alien invader," his words trailed off as he nervously glanced past Lem to seek a look at Chuck.

"Look," Lem said, pulling Eckle to one side. "He's not dangerous," he paused then added, "Unless provoked." Eckle tried to sneak another glimpse but Lem pulled his attention back. "Eckle, I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone else about this, let alone Skiff."

"Why?" Eckle asked. "It's an alien, isn't it?" Lem quickly curbed another attempt to see Chuck.

"He's an explorer, Eckle," Lem said. "He just wants to look around our planet, that's all. You can't tell mom, and you definitely can't tell dad. And for the Rings sake, on no condition what so ever, you can't tell Skiff."

"Then, what am I supposed to tell him?" Eckle asked. "He knows you came here."

"Just tell him I did some work, and..." he looked over his shoulder, "I was using the telescope." Eckle cocked his head to one side, as if asking the question, 'Are you sure that's going to work?' "Just tell him that, okay?" Lem added before Eckle could ask. Eckle nodded, and looked back over at Chuck, and this time, Lem didn't pull him away.

"It's really friendly?" Eckle asked, taking a step forward with caution. Chuck looked just as cautious.

"It's name is Chuck," Lem said. He then took Eckle by the hand and lead him over to the alien, who backed up a little. "Eckle, this is Chuck." He then turned to Chuck. "Chuck, Eckle." He then pointed at Eckle. "Eckle good Chuck, not bad, good. Understand?"

"Chuck understand." Chuck replied, causing Eckle's eyes to widen. Chuck held up a hand and said, "Hello, Eckle." Eckle almost did a double take."

"It can speak?" He cried out.

"I've been teaching him the basics of our language," Lem said with a smile. "Though he still can't grasp some complicated words, you have to be very simple when talking to him."

Eckle nodded, then turned back to Chuck. "Hello Chuck," he said. "I'm Eckle. I'm Lem's younger brother."

"Younger bro-ther?" Chuck asked with his confused expression.

"I haven't taught him the concept of family or relatives yet," Lem said to Eckle. "I've never really thought about how to go about explaining it." Eckle looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned.

"I think I have a way." He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out come cards. He flipped through them until he came to a photo. "Chuck," he said, catching the alien's attention. "Look." He held up the photo. "Family." Lem looked over, and saw it was a photo of the whole family, him, his parents and Eckle, all posing on the front lawn.

Chuck leaned in and looked. His eyes widened, and he pointed and said, "Lem," and then, "Eckle." He paused and frowned then added more softly. "Dad." He looked up at Eckle who was still holding the photo. "Family?"

"Eckle is Lem's younger brother," Eckle said slowly.

Chuck's eyes widened. "Family!" He cried out. "Younger brother!" He pointed at Eckle. "Eckle and Lem younger brothers." Eckle snorted a laugh.

"You've gotta be careful on how to explain things, Eckle," he said. "He thinks younger brother means brother." Lem waved for Chucks attention, and said, "No, Chuck. Eckle, younger brother. Lem older brother." Chuck thought about that for a moment.

"Younger brother, older brother." It hit him. "Eckle and Lem, brother...! Brothers?"

"Yes," Eckle cried out as he pointed at himself. "Younger," he then pointed at Lem. "Older." Chuck tested the two new words a few times. He then pointed at Eckle, "Eckle is...? Lem's younger brother."

"Yes," Eckle nodded. Chuck realised something and his hand felt around the area where he hid his gun, then to both Lem and Eckle's surprise, his face changed colour. His pinkish hue was replaced by a bright red crimson colour, causing both brothers to double take.

"Sorry Eckle," Chuck said. "Chuck sorry..." his words babbled off.

"Wow!" Eckle exclaimed. "He changed colour?"

"I... didn't know he could do that," Lem answered.

"Cool," Eckled cried out, moving alarmingly closer to Chuck. "Can he like, blend into walls?"

"Chuck no understand?" The alien asked and turned to Lem for a translation. Lem found himself scratching his chin in thought, as he seriously contemplated Eckle's question. Could he?

***

The map was put down and rolled out across the table in what had been the living room of the Korplog house. General Grawl leaned over it as soldiers placed weights at each end to keep it down.

"All right," he said, "We finally have some of the town's militia organised which has freed up some of our troops. We can start looking for our visitor." He looked up at a lean looking man standing opposite of him. "Fleg?" Fleg had come in with the specialist team from Capital City. He was the teams ethologist.

"Thank you, sir," the man answered as he laced his fingers together and looking around to make sure he had everyone's attention, he said, "The first thing we need to establish, is it's behaviour patterns."

"The eyewitness accounts of it's landing indicated it was caught off guard and ran." The Sargent said. "A kid managed to case it off with a toy gun."

"Excellent," Fleg said. "This tells us that the alien most likely came here unprepared. The sudden shock of being attacked caused it to panic. Any animal when threatened by the unknown will beat a hasty retreat if they can."

"We know that," the Sargent responded. "What's the point?"

"I'm getting there." Fleg said. "We're not dealing with a person here, we're dealing with an unknown. So, the question we must ask is, how do they think? Like us? Completely different? But from what behaviour we know from eyewitness reports, we can come to a rather basic conclusion."

"Which is?" Grawl asked.

"The alien was caught off guard and ran off; away from it's ship. So it's lost, scared and possibly hostile." A few fingers flexed on their weapons. "It has no idea where it is, what's going on, and no way of getting home. So," he clapped both his hands together. "Since we're dealing with a sentient being here, it's going to want to feel safe. It'll need to hide somewhere until it can get it's bearings or plan it's next move."

"And where would that be?"

"Somewhere where it can be safe. Somewhere where it can also keep an eye on the situation. Sentience is a tricky form of physiology, but sentience is all about being in control. It'll want a hiding place where it can be in control, and in order to do that, it'll have to be a place that is free of people, and where it can SEE everything that's going on."

"Some place high?" Grawl suggested. Fleg nodded.

"So, our alien is hiding some place up high, were it can keep an eye on the situation while trying to plot it's next move. Some place where people are most likely not to be in large numbers, so it can feel safe." All eyes then turned to the map.

"This town's located in a valley," Grawl said. "Every place is high."

"True, but where is the highest point?"

"Right here," the Sargent said, stabbing a finger at the map. Grawl leaned in close.

"What's that right there?" He asked, pointing to an object near the Sargent's finger. "Is that a building?"

"I believe it is, sir," the Sargent replied, removing his finger. "It's the town's planetarium."

"Then, that's where we'll start our search," Grawl said, straightening up. "Sargent! Give the orders to move out!"

***


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN:**Hey One and all. Sorry about the late updates, but unforeseen circumstances prevented me from writing much. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and now that I'm back on track, hopefully updates won't be this long. Constructive criticism wanted._

* * *

Eckle was laughing as Lem entered the auditorium carrying the three books in his arms. He looked up to see the alien doing... something. He was waddling around with a stick in one hand which he twirled about in a circled. His legs moved as though they were stiff, and then he slipped. Lem gasped in shock, but the fall that followed looked controlled, as if Chuck meant to do that.

Lem gave a sudden laugh as Chuck, not watching where he was going, crashed into the wall, and fell over. He turned the fall into a roll, bounced back onto his feet, and shook his head in confusion.

"What the Pit is this?" Lem asked Eckle.

"Char-Heh Chap-Minh." Lem recognised the words as Human Language even though Eckle butchered the pronunciation. "I believe it's his word for 'Comedy.'" They both looked up to see Chuck standing near them, his eyes on the books in Lem's hands.

"Books," Lem said as he held them out to Chuck. "Car. Books; how car move from ground." Chuck eagerly snatched them from Lem's hand, and sitting down, crossed legged, opened the books, and started flipping through the pages.

"Lem," Eckle asked, "Why is he interested in cars?" Lem shrugged.

"Don't know," he said. "I showed him the planetarium's van and he suddenly got all excited over the hover plate."

"Why?" Lem thought hard.

"Wheels," he said.

"Wheels?" Lem put a hand on his brother's shoulder's.

"Eckle, there's something else I need to show you." He lead him towards the observatory. Chuck stayed where he was on the floor, flipping through the pages. Lem took Eckle inside and towards the opening where the telescope projected into the sky.

Rover was still there, cables hooked up to it. It's pod like head swivelled towards them as they approached. Remembering it's orders, it didn't budge.

"By the rings," Eckle gasped, and then tore free of Lem's grasp and ran the last few steps towards it. Thankfully, he didn't get too close. "A robot! A real life ALIEN robot! Oh, Skiff would love this."

"No," Lem warned as he took a place beside his brother, "Remember..."

"I know, I know," Eckle repeated with boredom. "Don't tell Skiff, or anyone else." He turned his gaze back to the machine, which was now studying him. "But this is just so cool!" He frowned before turning to look at it from a different angle. "Where's it's death ray?"

"Eckle..." Lem started but stopped as he thought about what his brother had said, before shaking the question from his mind. "Chuck said it was an exploration robot."

"Oh, man!" Eckle sighed with disappoint. It was then that he noticed what it was that Lem had taken him in here for. "Hey, why dose it have wheels?" He almost poked one.

"That's what I've been trying to get out of Chuck," Lem said, eyeing the three set on the right side. "I asked that same question, and he asked me how else could it move. That's when I told him about the hover plate and I haven't been able to get anything else out of him since." He turned a worried eye towards the door they'd just entered through. "He almost tore the van apart, and now I'm almost worried to leave him alone." He eyed the cables attached to Rover and the device on the telescope. "I'm starting to wonder what else he might try to dissemble."

"What's that for?" Eckle asked as he finally noticed the device on the telescope.

"Chuck says it's to make sure his flying saucer doesn't leave."

"Flying saucer!" Eckle was bouncing up and down. "Where?"

"You can see it when you look through the telescope..." Eckle shoved past him and glue his eye to the scope.

"I can't see anything!" Lem frowned and looked through the eye piece. The ship was still there.

"It's that white bulk in the centre," Lem said allowing his brother another look. "Can't you see it?"

"That's it?" Eckle sounded disappointed. "Man, you can't see much." He then turned his attention back to Rover. "So what can it do?"

"I don't know," Lem shrugged. "It just showed up this morning, and Chuck says it's been here on our planet for a while." He frowned. "Chuck said after it landed, his people lost contact with it, but... it just suddenly shows up."

Eckle looked at his brother with a serious expression. "You think Chuck's not telling the truth?"

"I think he's just not telling us the full story."

"Lem?" They bother turned to see Chuck standing by the door, holding the books. "What do you?"

"Chuck," Lem said, "Lem teach Eckle, Rover." He paused as he saw his opportunity. "Eckle no understand, wheels?"

"No understand wheels?" Chuck looked confused. "Chuck no understand question."

"Why Rover have wheels. Why Rover no have hover plate."

"Humans no have hover plate." Chuck answered.

"Then how do you get around?" Eckle cried out. Chuck looked back at Eckle, and before Lem could correct him, Eckle suddenly said, "How who-minhs move? People move WITH hover plate."

"Humans move with wheels," Chuck answered as he pointed at Rover. He then turned to the machine and said something slowly in human language. Rover eased forward gently, the cables stretching out behind him as he did so. The brothers watched as the wheels rotated, moving the robot forward. Chuck said something else, and the wheels reversed their motion, moving the machine back to it's original spot. Chuck gave another command, and the wheels all turned on an angle, allowing the machine to rotate slowly on the spot.

Lem watched with fascination. Wheels were commonly used in machines to turn gears and other complexed functions, but he never contemplated the possibility that they could be used as a method of locomotion.

"Lem?" Lem turned to Chuck. "What people use? What people use before hover plate?"

The brother's looked at each other. "Chuck," Lem said. "No understand? People use hover plate. No before hover plate. Before hover plate, people WALK." He mimed walking as he said the word. Chuck looked flabbergasted.

"HOW?" He shouted, before he started bubbling out with his own language. It was only after he realised that Eckle was laughing at the sounds he made, did he calm down, and talk normally. "Where hover plate from? How people GET hover plate?"

"From rocks," Lem answered. This confused Chuck even more, before he pulled out one of the books Lem had brought and flipped open to a page. The page he presented was that of the ore used to make the hover plate. Viterousblanco. He pointed at the picture, and pronounced it slowly but Chuck couldn't wrap his tongue around it, so Lem just called it Rock. "This," Lem said, "People get rock. People make metal. People make hover plate."

This seemed to cause Chuck to momentarily freeze up, half way between looking from Lem, to the picture of an exacted sample of Viterousblanco in the book. He muttered something very softly in his own language, before turning to Lem. "Where Rock, Lem? Chuck want explore rock."

"A quarry, I suppose," Lem replied with a shrug. "You can find some out in the desert. But not as much as you could in older times..." He trailed off as he saw Chuck doing something with Rover. "What are you..."

"Rover," Chuck said to the brothers. "Rover find rock." He then stood back, and held the book up to Rover's head. Chuck then said something in human, before a bright blue light emitting from the lens like eye bathed the whole page that Chuck held out.

"Whoa!" Eckle cried out. Lem just gaped as from within the blue glow, what looked like a horizontal blue bar moved up and down the page. Before anyone could do anything, Rover abruptly zoomed off, wheels a blur as it weaved around and out the door. The two brothers just stood there in shock and awe.

"What... Just happened?" Lem asked no one in particular.

"What happen?" Chuck asked. Lem nodded. "Rover go. Rover find rock. Many rock. Rover bring many rock to Chuck."

"Lem?" Eckle was pulling on his sleeve. "If it's an exploration robot, why did it have a death ray?"

"I don't think that was a death ray, Eckle," Lem responded. "I don't even know what that was. A ray of some kind, but..."

"Oh, pit!" Eckle suddenly cried out, "I was supposed to call Skiff, and let him know I'm okay."

"The phone's in the office." Lem said. "And..."

"I know, I know," Eckle said with a rye smile. "Don't tell Skiff about Chuck." He hurried for the same door that Rover exited through. "Oh, Lem!" Lem turned to see his brother hovering by the door. "Thanks for not treating me like Mom dose." Lem gave a puzzled look. "For not telling me to watch my language." Lem smiled as he realised what he meant. When Eckle had swore before. He usually did tell him to watch his tongue.

"Chuck, you want learn now? Lem teach Chuck?"

"Yes," Chuck said enthusiastically.

As the two of them left the room Lem asked, "Chuck, how good Chuck Read?" Chuck was about to respond when Eckle came out of Oglos's office.

"Lem, the phone's dead."

"What?" Lem said.

"Dead?" Chuck asked.

"Later," Lem waved his question away as he stalked into the office. There was no dial tone as he picked it up. "What the Pit?" Lem opened the window and looked outside. The telephone wires where still there. "What's wrong now?" He muttered. He looked across to see the phone cables snaking around the building towards the front...

What was that?

Lem snapped his vision back down to the forest below him. For a split second, he could've sworn that he saw a flash of... something. He wasn't quite sure. There! Down by the road that lead up to the Planetarium, he saw it again. He turned around, and rummaged through the Professor's desk drawer for the binoculars.

Turning back to the window, he focused them on the spot where he saw the flash. Maintenance Men were working on the poles. He frowned. Why would they be doing...

The power suddenly went out. "Lem?" He herd Eckle cry out.

"I know," Lem replied. He looked back at the men. Why where they cutting power and communications to the Planetarium? He watched as the one up the top shimmied down the poll towards a man in green-grey. He leaned further out the window, trying to get a better look, and froze.

He dropped the binoculars and rushed out of the office to the startled looks of Eckle and Chuck.

"We have to get out of here, now!" He snapped, grabbing Eckle by the arm.

"Lem?" Eckle cried out, "What's going on?"

"It's the army," Lem said, looking out the front door. "They're on their way." They rushed out the front door, Chuck only slightly hesitating before following them. He dragged his brother towards the side of the building, towards the garage. "Eckle, how did you get here?"

"I caught the bus just down to the mountain pass, then walked the rest of the way here," Eckle said. Lem nodded. Just like he'd done. The buses were still running but only performing basic functions, not the full service they had before Chuck landed.

"Lem?" Chuck asked. "What Army?"

"Army?" Lem was caught off guard. "How am I going to explain..." He saw the bulge in Chuck's pocket that was his gun. He pointed at the pocket. "That," he said. Chuck reached into his pocket, and pulled out the gun. He said something in human. "Army," Lem said, and then pointed at the gun. "Army got many those. Big many those" Chuck's eyes widened and he said something short and sharp.

Lem looked around. He wasn't quite sure but maybe he translated that wrong. He didn't have the time for a speech lesson right now and the Rings only knew what Chuck thought the Army was.

"Why can't we take the van?" Eckle asked, as Lem began closing the garage door.

"Because the van needs the road, and the Army will BE on the road." He locked it, and looked off at the trees. "We're going to have to cut through the forest." He looked back at the others. "Looks like we're going to have to walk."

"Won't it be dangerous going down the mountain side?" Eckle asked.

"We've got no choice." Lem said. "If the army's coming up the road then we need to escape in the opposite direction."

"Where going, Lem?" Chuck asked.

"Not here, away." Lem said, and waved his arm towards the town. "Here, not safe. No come here. Army come here. Not safe." Chuck started back inside. "Chuck, no!" Lem cried out, grabbing his arm. Chuck said something in human, before pointing. "Chuck need objects!" He pointed back inside. "Chuck busy using objects."

Just then, they all turned their heads towards the sky at the sound of a rhythmic thumping. Lem quickly grabbed both Eckle and Chuck and slammed them against the side of the building, just as the three helicopters roared in low over head.

"The tree's," Lem yelled, "Now!" He gave both of them an encouraging push and rushed for the foliage himself, hugging the side of the building, as the choppers all began to turn back. They barely made it before the three helicopters circled back. Lem reached the bushes, and immediately went sprawling into the dirt as he tripped over a tree root, he skidded along the ground before stopping in a bush.

"Lem?" Eckle asked.

"I'm fine," he groaned, "Did they see us?" All three of them turned to see the Helicopter's brake formation to land at different sides of the building.

"Lem," Eckle whispered. "We left the whole place unlocked and open." Chuck said something that sounded unhappy; Probably complaining about his stuff.

"We can't worry about that now," Lem said, hunting for his bike. "The important thing is, we managed to get out before they came. We also managed to leave without leaving behind anything that could let them know you and I were here in the past few days." He started walking down the slop towards the main road at the bottom of the mountain side. "We're going to have to leave, now." He pointed back at the building which was being surrounded by soldiers. "They're going to find Chuck's stuff, and once they figure out Chuck's no longer there, they're going to have the surrounding area searched, and we want to be as far away as possible when that happens, so come on!" He hurried away into the undergrowth, Eckle and Chuck following behind.

* * *

General Grawl watched from the open canopy of the Helicopter as the soldiers all fanned out, to cover the various exit's and entrances of the building. The soldiers all advancing in cover formations that worked so well in the viscous street to street fighting that occurred in the final days of the Great War.

He was distracted by the crackling of the radio. "Sir, we're inside," he recognised the voice of the Sargent of from the rear team. "The whole place was unlocked. Over."

"That should be of no surprise, Sargent," Grawl answered, into the mike. "A lot of people fled in panic when the alien landed. The police has had problems with looters because people have forgotten to lock up." He paused. "Still, proceed with caution. Over."

"Understood sir, over and out."

The Captain climbed out of the Helicopter and walked around to the side where Grawl was. "What do we do if it IS here, sir?"

"Try to contain it," was the answer. "Don't engage, just keep it where it is. Chances are it'll probably be frighten and just hide." He frowned. "Still, the lives of my men come first." The Captain nodded.

They waited for a while, before the all clear came in over the radio. The alien was not present. "Sir," the Sargent said over the speaker as he finished his report. "You might want to come to the auditorium." Grawl jumped out from the helicopter and walked inside. The soldiers all stood about, and came to attention as he walked past and through the doors into the auditorium.

In one corner, a group of soldiers were all gathered around a large white mess of sorts. As he drew nearer he gave a slight intake of breath as he saw the symbol on a large white box. "It's been here," he muttered. "Sargent, has anyone touched anything?"

"Besides the doors and closest's? No, sir." Grawl nodded in approval.

"Excellent, I want this entire building evacuated until the hazmat team can conduct a through investigation of this building."

"Yes sir," the Sargent then turned to his men and barked out some orders. Grawl turned about and rushed out the door, back to the chopper where the Captain was waiting. "Captain," Grawl shouted out to him as he rushed over, "I want all our reinforcements that are en route to perform a wide arching comb of the area, starting from the road, and all the way up the mountain side."

"Sir," the Captain responded a little nervously, "We don't have enough troops with us for that kind of manoeuvre."

"Well, get them," Grawl snapped. "The alien is somewhere near by. Possibly, but we can't be certain until we check, now get me more troops, and I don't care where from!"

"Yes sir," the Captain turned back to the mike.

* * *

Lem duck a low hanging branch as he hurried down the slopping ground. It was difficult running down hill and trying not to let your legs run away from you, and more than once Lem and nearly fallen over backwards from a low hanging branch that he failed to notice.

They were all puffing hard from running, but they were still on the mountain side which meant that they were still in danger. Anyone watching them would've found the sight comedic, with Lem half jogging half skipping as he attempted to run and keep his legs under control at the same time. Eckle's little legs were a blur as he weaved and dodged around obstacles, while Chuck's massive bulk ploughed through everything in his path.

Hopefully though there was nobody watching them, Lem thought as he nearly lost control while dodging a fallen tree. Lem led the way down hill, the others still followed him as they ran. The trees around them began to grow thicker, slowing them down, but Lem urged them on, despite the stinging slaps he received to his face from the numerous branches.

Ahead of them, Lem could hear a gurgling sound. He didn't pay it much heed until it started becoming noticeably louder. Suddenly, he came out of the foliage and felt his feet sink into soft earth and saw the sparkling blue currents of the river. The river!

Lem was barely able to stop the other two as they themselves burst free from the trees; Chuck nearly went head first into water but managed to grab hold of a tree trunk. For a moment, they both looked at the river, then turned to look at Lem. Lem in turn looked back at them.

"What do we do?" Eckle asked.

As if answering his question, somewhere across the other side of the river, they could here the steady crashing of leaves. They all looked across to the other side. There wasn't anything to see, but the sounds echoed through the foliage.

Someone was coming this way. The crashing grew louder, closer. Lots of someone's where coming this way.

"We can't go back," Lem said, turning back to look at the path they'd come. "But we can't go forward ether..." His voice trailed off as he turned to watch a log flow past him. He watched in silence as it turned around the bend and disappeared. "That's it!" He cried out, half scaring Eckle. He quickly began to scramble down the embankment. "Quick, everyone, into the river, now!"

Lem waded into the cool water, till he was up to his knees. He could feel the current tugging at him, and looked around. There! He spied what he was looking for. Not far, across the other side of the bank, and a little down stream, was a log; stuck on the shore. He turned to the others, still standing on the shore. "Come on!" He hissed, trying not to make too much noise.

Eckle dived right on in, while Chuck hesitated. Not for long though, as he too began to splash into the river. Lem continued on, wading in, until the bottom left his feet and he started swimming; right for the log. The river grabbed at his clothes and pulled him along down stream towards the log.

He had to time this just right. He kicked with all his might, swimming towards the log. He had to get it. It rushed towards him combined with Lem's swimming and the current. The log was within reach and made a grab for it.

His hand splashed down in water. No! He missed. He made another grab for it but it was already behind him, vanishing with every passing second. Suddenly there was a warm, vice like grip on his wrist and Lem stopped moving. He looked down to see a pinkish white hand, gripping his wrist, and he looked up to see Chuck holding onto him.

Chuck then reached out with his other hand, and grabbed the log, stopping them from moving further down stream. Eckle's little wet face abruptly slammed into the log and he held on, gasping for breath.

"Lem?" Chuck asked inquisitively as he looked from Lem to the log and back again.

"Pull it free," Lem whispered and mimed the movement for Chuck, as the trees on their side of the bank were now shaking from movement beyond. "Hurry." Chuck pulled Lem to the log, and then gripping it with both hands, pulled. The log slid sideways suddenly, and with another tug, was free and flowing down river. "Everyone, hold on," Lem said quietly as he grip it with both hands.

The river flowed strongly, without being too wild. The log was picked up by the current and carried down stream. As they neared the bend in the river, Lem looked back, just in time to see a man in army green-grey stick the upper half of his torso out of the foliage and peer at the river.

Lem held his breath. The looked soldier looked up the river, and with hart stropping suddenness, turned to look down the river at...

Lem's vision was blocked by the trees. The soldier could not be seen. Lem exhaled the breath he'd been holding and sagged against the log and enjoyed the ride.

The were moving at a good pace, and they didn't have to swim. Most of the time, the water carried them at a steady pace. Sometimes they touched the bottom, and other times it got narrower and deeper. Still, it was faster than walking, although slower than a car. The important thing was that they were getting away, and away from the soldiers.

Lem still kept an ear and eye out for any more disturbances on the river banks, in case those weren't the only soldiers in the area. However it wasn't all smooth sailing. After a while, the nice warm soothing water wasn't so nice and soothing. It'd been mid-day when they'd jumped into the river, and the water had been warmed by the sun. As they travelled further down stream, the trees began to close in overhead, blocking out the sun, and the water began to get extremely cold.

Nevertheless, they kept on going. It was the best option. It was the only option. It got them away from the soldiers and any other patrols they might run into.

After another hour, the forest began to open up, warming Lem's shivering body. He peered down the river, and saw the bright glow of daylight, like the light at the end of a tunnel. As the trees began to thin and a the distance could be seen, Lem gave the signal to the others and they started paddling for the shore.

The instance his legs touched gravel, Lem pushed away from the log and started to wade ashore. His wading became splashes until he finally felt grass beneath his feet. Chuck appeared beside him, water pouring from his clothes. He shook his legs, dislodging water from the cloth that covered them.

Eckle jogged up beside them, wringing out his cap, before slapping it back on. "Come on,"

Lem said, starting forward, "We have to keep moving. The more distance we put between us and the Planetarium, the better." The others followed Lem as they moved forward through the bushes.

Ahead of them, the trees thinned and then abruptly ended at the edge of a grassy field. Taking cover behind a tree, Lem looked out. The field ran for a mile before it reached more trees. To the right, the river could be seen and to the left...

Was a Jeep containing four soldiers. Lem tensed. Looking carefully, he saw that the Jeep was sitting off on the side of a road. They all sat in the Jeep looking quite board. Lem turned back to see the others staring at him intensely. Damn it, why did all the decision making have to be left to him?

Lem spun back to the Jeep as the static bursts of the radio echoed across the field. One of the soldiers reached over from the back seat and grabbed the mike. Lem was too far away to hear exactly what was being said, but he could here the bursts of static from the radio.

After a few short conversations soldier put the mike back and jumped out of the Jeep; his buddy did the same, and the two of them started across the field towards the river. Lem held his breath as they walked right past them, he slid back behind his tree carefully, not making a sound. When they passed, he looked back out to see them taking up positions on their side of the river.

Lem was suddenly struck by a thought. Had their escape down river been noticed after all? Or had some smart cookie realised it might be prudent to place check points along the river in case the alien turned out to be aquatic.

He frowned and looked back at Chuck, or rather his hands. The fingers were slightly webbed, and he had seen, but never taken any heed, to the fact that Chuck had been a better swimmer than ether of them. In fact, his water logged clothes and leg coverings should've dragged him down; but they didn't. He'd kept himself afloat.

What kind of a world did Chuck come from, where his species would evolve with natural swimming capabilities? Most likely a planet with lots of water. He smiled. A water planet of fur-less aqua mammals. He frowned at the thought. How could a planet that could be mostly water have mammals as the dominate life form? Wouldn't the aquatic life be the most logical candidate for the supreme being?

His scientific curiosity was interrupted by another sound. Lem turned around and saw the other two soldiers walking up from behind. They walked over to join their comrades over by the water's edge. There was a tug at his sleeve and he looked down into Eckle's eyes.

"Lem, let's take the Jeep!" He said. Lem looked over at the unguarded vehicle. It was too tempting. He looked back at the soldiers. All of them carried guns, but no radio. If they did take the Jeep, there was no way they could contact anyone else; For a while at least.

"We can't," Lem said quietly back. "The soldiers are still too close to the Jeep. If we somehow managed to sneak over to it, we'd have to start it, then drive away before we were shot at. At that range, they'd have to be pretty poor shots not to miss us." He paused to look over at the soldiers. "Besides, they're not that far away. Even if we somehow managed to pull all that off, what if they saw our faces? They could identify us later. It's too risky."

"We take Jeep?" It was Chuck who asked that question.

"No, Chuck," Lem said. "Army," he pointed at the soldiers and Chuck looked. "Army VERY near. Not safe. Army very near Jeep. Not safe to take Jeep." Chuck looked from the soldiers to the Jeep, back again. He seemed to be thinking about something, before he suddenly turned to Lem with a smile. "Chuck, not hide! Army follow Chuck. Lem and Eckle, take Jeep."

"What?" Lem nearly shouted it, but before he could do anything else, Chuck moved off through the bushes, rather silently for a creature of his size. He vanished into the trees, and Eckle turned a worried look to Lem who just stood there, switching his gaze between the spot Chuck had vanished through and the soldiers still camped on the river bank.

"Lem," Eckle hissed pointing at the Jeep, "Look." Chuck was there, inside the Jeep, trying to start it.

"What the pit dose he think he's doing?" Lem hissed.

Suddenly, there were shouts, cries of alarm and Lem turned to see the soldiers were staring and point at Chuck in the Jeep.

"Pit!" Lem snarled and tighten his grip on the tree he was hiding behind. Chuck sprang from the Jeep and raced across the field, sprinting across the clearing towards the other patch of trees. As he jumped from the Jeep, Lem saw that Chuck had quickly turned to face their hiding spot and smiled. One soldier raised his gun, only to have it knocked away by another soldier who gave him a stern look. They all started after the Chuck.

"They're leaving," Eckle said, "They're following Chuck. I understand what Chuck meant. Now, let's get the Jeep."

"No we can't," Lem grumbled as he pointed, "Look!" One soldier wasn't following Chuck, he was jogging back towards the Jeep. So, Lem had suspected right. They didn't have any portable radio's on them. Just in the Jeep. He was no doubt going to radio in that they had the Alien on the run.

By the Pit, now they were in serious trouble. Once that guy got the word out this place would be swarming with soldiers. The soldier reached the Jeep and did a double take. He peered inside and then to Lem's surprise, he raced off after his friends. Lem and Eckle both shot each other confused looks.

"What was that all about?" Eckle asked. Lem looked back to see the soldier disappear into the trees and he turned back to the now unguarded Jeep.

"Come on!" He shouted, and leapt from his hiding place and cleared the distance between the trees and the Jeep rather quickly. As he reached the vehicle, he hesitated getting in as he saw what it was that shocked the soldier. Chuck hadn't been trying to hot-wire the Jeep; He'd destroyed the radio. Eckle quickly appeared beside him and Lem urged him inside.

Thankfully, the keys were still in the ignition and Lem nearly broke them off as he started the engine. It roared to life, and as Lem released the handbrake and the clutch, it took off.

"Now what do we do about Chuck?" Eckle asked as they sped off down the road. That question was answered as Chuck burst out from the trees and onto the road, still running.

"Eckle, get your head down," Lem shouted, as he crouched down in the drivers seat and slowed down. Chuck lunched himself into the air, and came crashing down into the back and the instant he did, Lem slammed the Jeep into high gear and floored the accelerator

Just in time to drown out the crashing sounds of the soldiers as they came through the trees. He kept himself low as they sped off. No doubt they would emerge onto the road, just in time to see the Jeep driving away. He didn't know if they'd be close enough or not, but he kept himself low in case they did shot after him, or to prevent them from getting a good look at his face.

Chuck's own face appeared next to his, still smiling. "Chuck make radio, not work." He said. His face had changed colour to that reddish crimson, and he was breathing heavily from his running. He must have put a lot of effort into it, Lem thought.

"So what's the plan now?" Eckle asked.

"We drive as fast and as far as we can." Lem said. "Then we ditch this thing and leg it the rest of the way."

"Rest of the way where?" Eckle asked. Lem opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. Rest of the way where? Where! His fingers tightened on the wheel as he stared blankly ahead. In the rush, in the heat of the moment, in all the hast to get as far away from the Planetarium as possible, he never stopped to think about where they were running to. Not even when they were floating down the river, he never thought of where they would go.

Pit! He sighed and relaxed. This was one of the more embarrassing reasons Lem always ended up getting caught during his more rumbustious days. He never did think things through properly. He gave the others a nervous stare, too embarrassed to tell them he hadn't the slightest idea what to do next.

"Lem?" Chuck asked. "Where go?"

"I don't know," Lem uttered.

"Hey," it was Eckle. "I know. Skiff!" Lem nearly slammed on the breaks. It was only the urge to keep moving that prevented him from doing so.

"Are you insane?" Lem hissed at him. "Skiff's the LAST person who should know about Chuck." Eckle gave his older brother a sardonic look.

"And why is that?" He asked.

"Because he's an alien nut," Lem said. "The Rings only know what he'll do if he ever gets his hands on Chuck. Besides, the guy still lives in his Mom's basement."

"And where do we take Chuck then? Home with us?"

"No," Lem answered dryly.

"And I wasn't suggesting that we let Skiff take Chuck home. I suggested we keep him at Haglogs Comics." Lem turned to speak but Eckle quickly cut him off. "Mr. Haglog has already left town, there's nobody there but Skiff." Lem turned and gave him a confused look. "He's protecting the rear issues of..."

"Junk body cares about," Lem cut in. "Reason number 56 as to why we can't trust Skiff."

"No!" Eckle pointed an accusing finger at Lem. "That's just reason number 56 as to why YOU don't trust Skiff, but I do." Lem turned in shock. "Maybe you don't trust Skiff, but I do. He's my friend, and I believe we can trust him."

Lem opened his mouth in protest by Eckle shot him a challenging look. Lem sighed and closed his mouth. Instead, he said, "Are you 100% positive we can trust him?"

"If I can trust you, then you can trust Skiff." Eckle said.

Lem sighed in defeat. "Fine, we take Chuck to Skiff."

* * *

"Are you a moron!"

The soldier in question couldn't answer. He was too terrified by General Grawl's face, twisted in rage just inches before his own. Finally, he managed to stammer out a "Yes sir."

"What were you thinking! Abandoning your post just because the radio was destroyed."

"I panicked sir," the soldier answered truthfully. "I ran off to find the others to let them know that the radio was destroyed and that we were on our own."

"And you didn't see who stole your Jeep?" The soldier shock his head.

"No sir, I was already in the forest when I heard it start up and drive off." Grawl turned to face the other three soldiers down the line.

"And what about your three?"

"I thought I saw somebody, hunched over the steering wheel," the superior private answered. "I didn't get a good look. I just saw the Jeep driving off down the road. But I can confirm that the alien was in the back."

Grawl growled softly, then snapped out a "Dismissed," and the four soldiers hastily saluted, before quickly making themselves scarce. Grawl watched them leave before turning back to face the Captain. They stood in the parking lot of the Planetarium which now swarmed with soldiers. It was late afternoon now, and the setting sun was casting brilliant orange rays across the landscape.

"Permission to speak freely sir," the captain asked.

"Granted," Grawl sighed.

"Sir, don't you think you were a little hard on them?" Grawl just grunted. "Sir, you and I are both Great War veterans, surly you of all people know that under the stress of battle your mind often doesn't think clearly. Especially when you encounter the enemy for the first time?"

Grawl just nodded. "I know, I know, captain," he muttered. "I remember my first enemy contact during the war. It wasn't pretty."

"You're upset about who might have helped the alien?" Grawl didn't even twitch. The captain mentally nodded. That was it. The Jeep had been found not long ago, abandoned in the bushes, hidden really well, not far from the main bridge that led into the town.

"You're forgetting one question, Grawl my boy!" They both turned to see Dr. Kipple hopping out of a car. "Were they whiling participants?" He then turned to the young man driving the car. "That'll be all, Uthlop, go park the car and meet me inside with my kit." He made a bee-line for them as the car drove off.

"Doctor," Grawl answered. "You're not suggesting that who ever helped the alien were under mind control?"

Kipple choked with laugher. "Do you honestly think I'm that stupid? This isn't a movie. No alien mind zombie slaves here." He shot the General a rye smile. "But in your case, taking control of your mind wouldn't be to difficult a job."

"Doctor, do you have something intelligent to add to this conversation," Grawl rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"My intelligence is significant enough to boost any conversation, General," Kipple said clenching eye around monocle. "Did you ever stop to think that the alien could've also planted some sort of remote controlling apparatus onto the Jeep, which would explain why it drove off by it's self?" Grawl was silent. "As stupid as it sounds, when the unknown is involved, anything is possible." He turned away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go and investigate the alien's nest," he turned slightly to glare at Grawl. "Unless of cause, you lost that as well."

Grawl gritted his teeth but said nothing. Kipple just turned away and headed for the Planetarium. The instant he vanished inside the building, Grawl snarled in frustration.

"That pompus windbag," he hissed through clenched teeth. "If it weren't for..."

"Sir?" He turned to see a soldier, and standing to him was an old man wearing glasses. "I've brought you the curator of the Planetarium as you asked. Professor Oglos." The man looked nervous and his gazed darted this way and that.

Grawl clammed down some what. "Professor," he said walking towards the man. "I'm General Grawl, I hope we haven't inconvenienced you?"

"I was just about to leave town when your soldiers showed up and asked me to meet with you," he trailed off as he looked about once more. Grawl noticed that he seemed worried about all the activity. "Is there something wrong with the Planetarium?"

"No, no, every thing's fine," Grawl said. "It's just that the alien had been living in your building for a few days." The Professor did a double take.

"W-what!" He stammered. "How? I mean, why? I mean, that's not possible!"

"Calm down sir," Grawl said. "Now, why would it not be possible?"

"Because Lem was working there." Grawl's eyes narrowed.

"Who?"

"Lem Korplog," Oglos said. "I called the Planetarium the morning after the alien landed and Lem answered. He had showed up for work, you see, he's my assistant..."

"He answered the phone?" Grawl asked. "Did he report anything unusual?"

"No," the Professor said with a shake of his head. "After I told him the Planetarium wouldn't be open, he just said he was going to clean up around the place and go home." Beside Grawl, the Captain was busy rubbing his chin.

"Korplog, Korplog," he muttered. "That name sounds familiar." Suddenly he snapped his fingers. "Of cause, the Korplog's! The alien landed in their front yard." He turned to Grawl. "Kipple is living in their house at the moment."

Grawl didn't say anything. He was busy thinking about what the Professor had said. This Lem kid had been here? He hadn't reported anything unusual? "Captain, where are the Korplogs at the moment?"

"I believe that they were relocated to the new housing district just east of the main park."

"I think we should pay the Korplogs a little friendly visit. Especially this young Lem Korplog."

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** _Sorry for taking this long. This time, it wasn't writers block, but rather my own dissatisfaction with the chapter. I did a few rewrites on it. Anyway, let's get the ball rolling. There's lot of things I want to talk about in my story and these LOOOOOOONG updates aren't making anybody happy. As all ways, constructive criticism wanted._

* * *

The streets were almost deserted. Not that Lem was complaining. That made the job of getting to Haglog's Comics all the more easier. They'd driven the Jeep as close to the town as they dared possible, then hid it in the shrub on the side of the road. Getting into town proved to be a lot easier than first thought. There were no guards on the bridge like there had been earlier. Where had they all gone?

Lem stopped wondering about that as he was just grateful that they were no longer there. After they crossed the bridge, they were in the town. Shops and houses were boarded up or closed. The sounds of people and traffic could still faintly be heard off in the distance but you had to stand still and really listen.

They kept to the shadows, moving from building to building via alleyways. Sometimes, they had to make a mad dash across the street, but no one was around to raise the alarm. Chuck kept looking at the different shop windows that he passed and sometimes, much to Lem's annoyance, would stop to look at the merchandise on display. Once he even broke cover to look into an appliance store. He'd asked Lem about the dish washer being advertised but Lem kept him going.

It was getting late in the afternoon by the time they finally reached the comic shop. They approached the front door before Eckle halted them.

"I'd better go in first," he warned. "Skiff might freak out if he sees you with the alien," he pointed at Lem. Lem raised an eyebrow.

"What, he won't freak out about Chuck?"

"He sent me after you, because he believes you're up to no good." Eckle answered and Lem groaned. Skiff had been dead set on believing that he'd been under alien mind control.

"Just make it quick," he said, looking around at the street behind them. "I don't want to keep Chuck in the open any longer than necessary."

"I'll meet you around the back then." Eckle said. "By the rear exit. Go through the Left alley and it's right next to you, on the right." Lem nodded, and as he turned to grab Chuck, something caught his eye. Floating around the street, was a bright purple flyer with bold red writing on it. Lem frowned. There was something interesting about that flyer that caught his eye, but he bumped into Chuck who he realised was pressing his face up against the display window of the comic shop.

Lem hurriedly took hold of Chuck's arm, dragging him towards the back as Chuck was busy looking at the comics on display and wanted to know more about them. Lem assured him that there would be time later for a through explanation, but they had to get out of sight.

The rear exit was where Eckle said it was and Lem waited, while trying best to answer Chuck's questions about every mundane thing that was in the back alleyway.

Lem wasn't sure how much time passed while he was talking to Chuck, but just as he was trying to explain what a trash can was, the door lock clicked, opened, and Eckle's head emerged. "Okay Lem," he said. "He's ready."

"Hold on to your antenna," Lem muttered, as he took Chuck's hand and led him inside.

"What antenna?" Chuck asked as they walked through the door. Lem was about to answer when he paused. Skiff was standing before them, but he was inside two Hessian sacks. He was standing inside one which covered up to his waist, and wore the other over the rest of his body, completely covering himself. Two eye holes were cut in the top one so that he could see out.

"What was to be demonstrated." Lem said with an air of 'I Told You So.'

"Now hold on there," the bags said. "This is just a precaution. In case your alien master turns out to be contagious."

"Master! Oh for the love of –! Wait! What?" Lem turned to look at Chuck, still holding his hand.

"Did you ever stop to think that it might be caring germs?"

"That's...!" He paused, before looking back at Chuck, then down at his hand, still holding Chuck's. He slowly let go.

"Lem?" Chuck asked, confused. Lem gave Chuck a fearful look. What had he been exposed too? Suddenly he shook his head and glared back at Skiff.

"Wait a minute, how the Pit is THAT supposed to protect you from germs?" He demanded, pointing at Skiff's getup. The bags shifted nervously.

"Well, you're supposed to do this in case of an atomic war." Came the response.

"Oh for -!" Lem threw his arms up into the air in frustration, before stalking over and slamming the rear exit door shut. He then marched over to Skiff with an annoyed expression, and ripped off the top bag.

"Hey!" Skiff cried out, and before anyone could do anything, Lem held up his hand, the one he'd used to hold Chuck's, so Skiff could get a good look at it before rubbing it right in his face.

Skiff screamed as he fell over backwards, clawing at his face. "I'm melting! I'm melting!" Lem looked to Ekle who only shrugged.

"Skiff," Ekle said walking over to him, "You face is not melting. You're fine." Skiff stopped clawing at his face and sat up. He carefully felt his face and sighed with relief.

He kicked off the bag from his feet and stood up. "We haven't got any alien germs, Skiff," Lem said as Skiff shot him a dirty look.

"And you know this how?" He asked.

Lem looked at Chuck. "I've been in contact with Chuck for nearly two days now. Think about it, if we HAD any germs that would be harmful, we'd be showing some kind of symptoms." Or at least he hoped that was the case. If Skiff were right, then it would already be too late, and if that was the case, then he wanted to take Skiff with him.

"What germs, Lem?" Chuck asked. Skiff turned at the sound of Chuck's voice.

"It can speak our language?" Lem opened his mouth but Skiff silenced him with an absent wave of his hand. "Yes, yes, I heard it before when it spoke your name, but I wasn't entirely sure it could speak." He walked up to Chuck and scrutinised him with a long hard look. He then placed his finger tips on his head, near his antenna as he closed his eyes, his face showed hard concentration. Suddenly, he stopped, looked up and gave Lem a quick once over, before looking back at Chuck. "I can't detect any strange mental waves, so that knocks out my alien mind slave theory."

Lem just rolled his eyes. Skiff then turned back to Chuck and patted his chest. "Skiff," he said. Chuck gave him a quizzical looked. Skiff then leaned in so close to Chuck that Chuck did a double take. "_Skiiiiiifff_!"

"Uh!" Lem quickly placed himself between Skiff and Chuck after noticing that Chuck was reaching towards the bulge in his pocket. "You have to be calm and patient with him," Lem said. "Speak softly and slowly."

Chuck cocked his head to one side. "Chuck no understand Skiff."

"You and me both, buddy," Lem said quitely. He then turned to Chuck. "Chuck," he said getting the alien's attention. He then pointed at Skiff. "Skiff." He then added with an expression that looked like he'd been forced to swallow a bitter pill, "Skiff, good. Not bad. Good."

"Skiff, friend." Ekle added.

"Friend?" Chuck asked.

"Friend good," Lem said. "Ekle and Skiff. Friend. Friends."

"Friends." Chuck said as the expression on his face showed he was thinking about this. He looked over at Lem and smiled. "Lem and Chuck, friends. Ekle and Chuck, friends." He then turned to Skiff. He hesitated before looking back at Lem. "Skiff and Lem... Not friends?" Both Skiff and Lem looked at each other.

"Uhh, Chuck!" It was Ekle who broke in. "Ekle, Skiff's friend. Chuck stay. Hide. Chuck hide with Skiff."

"Chuck hide with Skiff?" He looked back at Skiff and then said something in human.

Skiff startled everybody with an almost super sonic squeal. "By the Rings!" He cried out. "Actual alien language!" He moved in dangerously close to Chuck again with a huge grin. "Say something else!"

Chuck stared back at Skiff with a confused look, before turning to Lem. "Skiff... Funny," he said to Lem with a worried look. Funny? Lem suspected it wasn't because Skiff amused him.

"Relax, alien Chuck!" Skiff said before anybody could answer, "Your good friend Skiff will look after you." He winked at Ekle. "You made a wise discussion brining it to me. Being an expert in all matters of alien life and all things alien and such." He paused, before shooting Lem a concerned look. "Uhh, how exactly dose it use the bathroom?"

That question actually peaked Lem's interest. "I... don't know." He answered as he looked at Chuck. Did humans even need to use the bathroom?

"Okay, okay, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it, so, what dose it eat? Are our foods poisonous to it's internal organs?" Lem could only blink.

"I... don't know that ether."

Now Skiff looked annoyed as he leaned in closer to Lem with his hands on his hips. "Okay, dose it drink water then?" Lem only shrugged. "Well, how often dose it sleep? How do I know when it's in pain? Dose it mark it's territory? What are the signs it's ready to mate?" Lem could only spread his hands in ignorance to the questions. Skiff let out a half strangled noise of frustration as he spun about and headed for the store front. "I'm going to call my mom, let her know that I'll be staying here tonight."

Ekle looked over at Lem. "How am I supposed to know these things?" Lem asked in defence. "I mean, it's not like Chuck showed me. I mean, I just spent most of my time teaching him how to speak."

"Lem? What bathroom?" Chuck asked.

"It's..." Lem sighed and shrugged. "Oh, come with me." He took Chuck's hand and led him into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Ekle stood there watching the door, and jumped when a startled cry came from within. Ekle was about to rush forward when he realised that cry came from Chuck. There was a few more moments of eerie silence before the toilet flushed and the door opened. Lem looked embarrassed while Chuck looked horrified.

"Well, that's settled." They all turned to see Skiff returning from the front office. "Mom will be showing up later with some home cooked food for me, but that's no biggy, I can hide Chuck from... What's up with you two?" He asked.

"Chuck now knows what the bathroom is and let's just leave it at that." Lem said.

"I wish I had just a little knowledge of Chuck's biology," Skiff said moving on. "That way I could at least know what kinds of food matter would be safe for him to eat."

Chuck looked at Lem and before he could ask, Lem said, "Food, Chuck. Skiff, know not people food good to humans." Chuck opened his mouth to respond, but he grimaced instead. He then muttered something in human as he crossed his arms and sulked. "Chuck?" Lem asked. "What wrong?"

"Objects," Chuck said. "Objects know people food good or bad. Objects gone." Oh.

"What's this Objects?" Skiff asked.

"Chuck had all this equipment with him." Lem answered. "Human gadgets of all sorts. He was forced to leave them all behind when we fled the Planetarium. He's not too happy about that decision."

"Alien technology? Fascinating." Skiff rubbed his chin, and then shrugged. "Too bad, it would've been interesting to study." He turned back to look at Chuck. "But back to the point, My biggest concern is the food problem. I'd like to try trail and error, but that could be deadly to Chuck. Food that's perfectly fine to our biology could be harmful or even fatal to our alien friend." He then paused, before asking, "Chuck? Chuck got human food? Got human food here?"

Chuck nodded, and reaching into a pocket in his blue leg coverings and pulled out a dull yellow package with red symbols on it. "Twix," he said, before handing it to Skiff.

"Right," Skiff said taking the package. "Twix must mean food. Now, let's see." He look at it in his hand. He turned the end around, and squeezed it, before repeating the processes on the other end. "Chuck?" He asked. "Open? How open?" Chuck took the package back and tore the end off, before handing it back. "Wow," Skiff marvelled as he felt the skin of the package between fore finger and thumb. "I've never seen materiel like this before." He walked over to the bench and with both Ekle and Lem looking over his shoulder, he carefully upended the package and two long thin brown logs slid out.

"Eww," Ekle cringed. "That's gross! It looks like..."

"What's it made of?" Lem cut in, leaning in closer.

"Good question," Skiff mused as he opened a drawer and pulled out two scalpels used for model building. He stabbed one of the logs and carefully cut it in half. There was a crunching sound as he cut, and as he spread the two halves apart, a thick aurulent substance oozed out.

"That looks like jelly," Ekle commented. Skiff held up the half that was skewered on the scalpel in and sniffed.

"That smells strangely familiar." He muttered. Suddenly, before anyone could say anything, he took a small bite, chewed and swallowed. Both Lem and Ekle backed off, as if expecting Skiff to exploded. There was a dramatic silence in the room that seemed to last for hours. "It's candy," Skiff suddenly said. He eyed the rest of the log. "Not to bad ether." He then pulled the uneaten half off, and tossed it into his mouth.

The two brothers let out a collective sigh of relief. "So, dose that mean our food is okay for Chuck to eat?" Lem asked.

"Possibly," Skiff answered as he swallowed the last of the human candy. "What it dose mean is that they can eat sugar. It also opens up many other possibilities as well." He smiled. "I do believe it's okay to go ahead with the trial and error option after all." He paused. "But only with the basics. Like vegetables. No spices, seasoning's, flavourings, and other add ons."

"What about meat?" Lem asked. Skiff shrugged.

"It's possibly harmless to him, but we're not too sure. At the moment, we know that sugar is harmless. That comes from plants, not meat. Then of cause, we have the whole problem of knowing whether or not humans are..." He paused in mid lecture as if thinking about his problem before turning to Chuck. "Chuck, open mouth."

"Mouth?" Chuck asked.

"Mouth," Skiff said, pointing at his own, then opened his. "Open mouth." Chuck did so, and Skiff leaned in for a better look. He hummed, before reaching back into the desk drawer and pulling out a flash light. He took a step towards Chuck, before leaning close to Lem and asking, "Just making sure, but dose he spit acid?" Lem shot him a disproving glare and Skiff apologetically nodded, before walking over to Chuck. He shone around inside Chuck's mouth and hummed with interest.

"What are you doing?" Lem asked.

"Looking at his teeth," Skiff answered as he leaned back and motioned for the others to gather around. As they did, Skiff shone the flash light back inside Chuck's mouth and leaned back so that the others could see. "Take a look at this. The side and rear teeth are flat-like, but the front teeth are narrow and pointed."

"Cool!" Ekle said, craning for a better look.

"What's that mean?" Lem asked.

"It means, that our alien friend here is omnivorous." Skiff answered leaning back.

"Omni-what?" Ekle asked.

"It means Chuck can eat both meat and vegetables," Skiff answered. "This is incredible. Most mammals are ether herbivores or carnivores."

"That means they eat ether plants or animals," Lem said to Ekle.

"I never thought that they could evolve to be both. Look! The front teeth are for slicing while the side and rear are for grinding. Fantastic!"

"I thought most mammals ate plants?" Ekle asked.

"They do, they do," Skiff said. "But, mammals only make up a small portion of our planet's animal life, and those that do, are ether the lesser carnivores or more numerous herbivores; Not both. The majority of animal life on our world are reptiles, and a vast majority of them, like our selves, are capable of subsisting on a wide variety of food sources." He turned to look back at Chuck who had now closed his mouth and was watching all three of them with confused fascination. "My guess is that since Humans are mammals, the majority of the animal life on Chuck's world are mammals that are omnivores."

"So dose that mean he can eat OUR meat?" Ekle asked.

"I believe it dose," Skiff answered. They were interrupted by the phone ringing from the front of the shop. "Excuse me," Skiff said as he jogged out the door.

Ekle turned and gave a sly smile to his brother. "So, I guess I made the right call, bringing Chuck to Skiff?"

Lem nodded back. "Yeah, I guess you did." He ruffled his brothers cap playfully. "You've got some smarts in there."

"And Skiff?"

"Okay, okay," Lem said defensively. "Skiff has too. I guess he's not a total space cadet."

"Ekle?" Skiff called out from the front of the shop. "It's your mother." Both brothers looked at each other, before looking around the shop, trying to find a clock to see what the time was.

"What time is it?" Ekle asked.

"I guess we lost track of it," Lem answered. "Tell Mom we're leaving right away." Ekle nodded and headed for the front office.

"Lem go?" Chuck asked.

"Yes, Chuck," Lem answered. "Lem go. Lem back tomorrow."

"Skiff?"

"Skiff good, Chuck. Skiff not hurt Chuck. Skiff funny, BUT, Skiff good." Hearing that from Lem seemed to calm Chuck down.

"Lem?" Ekle came back in followed by Skiff. "Mom's a little worried that we didn't come home." Lem rolled his eyes. "She said Dad's going to come pick us up on the way back from the power plant." Lem nodded. "She doesn't want us walking home by our selves since the bus's no longer do night time services."

Again, Lem looked around for a clock. What time was it? He wished there was a window or something that allowed him to see out, but was also glad that there weren't any in case people could look in and see Chuck.

Chuck on the other hand gradually got over his suspicion of Skiff, as he started exploring the back room of the comic shop, asking about this and that. Skiff was more than happy to explain what comics where, although he went a little to in depth with some of the super hero's, completely losing the human.

Eventually, there was a knock at the front door, signalling the arrival of their father. Skiff checked to make sure, and both Lem and Ekle said their goodbye's to Chuck, promising to return the next day.

"You two seem like you've had a good day," Lem's dad said as they exited the shop. "And what where you up to? Your clothes are filthy!" Lem and Ekle looked at each other.

"We were helping Skiff around the store," Ekle said before Lem could reply. "Some of the back store cupboards haven't been cleaned out in a while."

Lem's dad snagged the bottom of Ekle's shirt between two fingers. "It looks to me like you've been running around in the bushes," he said. He paused, then added, "Have you been swimming?"

"A pipe burst," Ekle said. "It was my fault, really. I wasn't following the proper directions and..." He finished off with a half shrugging motion. Their father just 'humphed' before he nodded towards the car.

"You're mother's going to have the final word on that," he said. And then to Lem's surprise, he smiled. "But it seems like you two enjoyed your selves. It's great to see you two getting along." They all got in the car and drove off.

"Mom's not too upset with us, is she dad?" Lem asked, as they headed down the main road.

"Your mother worries Lem," his father replied with a snort. "She's... WHOA!" He slammed on the breaks just as an army truck filled with soldiers zoomed around the corner, followed quickly by another, and another. Six in total shot around the corner and raced off down the street. "Well, it looks like somebody's in a hurry." Their father muttered, adjusting his glasses. Both Ekle shot Lem a worried glance, before Lem assured him with a nod, and pointed in the direction of the trucks, before pointing in the direction of the comic shop to let Ekle understand that they were heading for a completely different destination. That calmed down his brother some what.

Soldiers were everywhere as they drove along. Most likely by now that they had discovered the discarded Jeep and were combing the town for the alien. That made Lem paused. Would they search every building? If that was the case, they could search Haglogs comics. Lem began to wonder if it really was such a bright idea leaving Chuck with Skiff.

"Hey, what is this?" Lem looked up to see that they were approaching their temporary home. But in the driveway were three Jeeps, and soldiers were positioned strategically around the house. Lem tensed and Ekle gave a short intake of breath. Lem quickly put a hand on his brothers shoulder, drawing his attention and mouthed 'Let me do the talking.' Ekle nodded, but still looked nervous.

They pulled up along the side of the road and got out. "Excuse me, soldier?" Their father said walking up to the superior private. "Is there anything wrong?"

"You live here sir?" Their father nodded. "The General would like to talk to your whole family. He's waiting inside." He nodded, and motioned for his two sons to follow. Ekle still looked nervous as they all walked inside.

In the living room, their mother was carrying a tray full of cups which she was handing out to two men in uniforms. One was a captain by his rank and the other was rather tall for a person. The stars on his tabs showed he was the general.

"Ahh, honey, you're home," their mother said as she looked up.

"This your whole family, ma'am?" The general asked. She nodded and he rose to his feet before eyeing to two boys. He gave Ekle a once over before eyeing Lem, and then asked "You must be Lem Korplog?"

Lem watched as his fathers expression went from surprise to an icy glare that he directed at his son. "What have you done this time?" He said in controlled anger. The general followed that glare and walked forward.

"Mr Korplog, I'm General Grawl," he said, extending his hand. Lem took it reluctantly and shook it once. "Son, are you aware of your whereabouts for the past few days?"

"Yes," Lem answered.

"Can you tell me where you were the day after the alien landed?"

To everyone's surprise, it was Lem's own father who answered that question. "He was at the Glipforg Planetarium; Smoking!" Both Lem and Grawl turned to face him, surprise on their faces.

"What?" Grawl asked. Lem's dad sighed.

"Sir," he said walking towards the man. "My son's an 'A' Grade delinquent. Petty vandalism, theft, you name it." Lem just rolled his eyes.

"Really," the general said in a tone that indicated he couldn't care less if Lem were a serial killer. "And how do you know what your son was doing that day?"

"Because I was there at the Planetarium." He answered. "I caught him. What's this all about?"

The general looked surprised. Then his face melted into a serious expression. "Sir, the alien has been living at the Planetarium for the past few days."

"What!" He cried out. "No, I mean, that's not possible!"

The general smiled at the captain. "That seems to be happening a lot." The captain chuckled. "So, why would that not be possible?"

"Because I never saw any alien when I was there."

The general blink in surprise, then looked at Lem, and then back to his father. "Did you look in the auditorium?" He asked.

"No," he answered honestly.

"Did YOU look in the auditorium, son?"

"No, sir, I didn't," Lem answered.

"My son is still alive general," Lem's father interrupted. "I think that means he never saw the alien." Grawl turned and looked like he was about to say something in response to that, but he stopped, and quickly moved on. "I suppose that is true," he said. "But we'd still like to question your son about his time there."

Lem's father took a step towards the general. "Anything you have to ask my son you can ask in front of me." Both Lem and the general looked surprised.

"Dad?" Lem asked. His father silenced him with a raised hand.

"Very well," Grawl said with a shrug. "Let's do this right here then." He turned to Lem. "Have a seat, Lem." Lem nodded and sat down. "Lem," the general said as he sat down in the chair opposite. "I'm not here to arrest you or anything. I want to make it perfectly clear that we," as he said this, he swept his arms to indicate the soldiers in the room, "Are not the bad guys. We are not the Southern Alliance. We are your protectors. I'm saying this because I want to to also know that no matter what you have done, we will not hold it against you in any way."

Lem nodded, keeping a straight poker face. Something he'd managed to master in his earlier days, with people screaming in his face. He was pretty good at it too, so much so that it drove the Sheriff nuts. He also learnt that unless they could prove it in the courts, he hadn't done it.

"Lem, despite what the movies say, this particular alien isn't that bad." Lem nearly lost his composure, but held it together.

"How do you know this?" He asked. "I mean, the news papers and radio and television have all been saying..."

"That's not important right now." The general waved the question away. Lem could tell right away he wasn't the master of composure that he was and immediately picked up the irritation in his voice. "Listen to me, Lem, this alien needs help. Proper help that only we can provide. Please, if you know anything, it would be best if you let us know right away."

Lem nodded. He was quickly turning things over in his head. He had to make a decision right now, and there were way to many interesting questions that had arisen from what the general had said.

"Sir," he began. "I..."

All heads turned at the sound of the door opening and in walked a short man wearing a trench coat and a monocle clenched between one eye. He gave the whole room a once over before settling his gaze on the family sitting down.

"So, that's the boy, is he?" Kipple said as he shuffled over to the gathering.

"Professor Kipple?" Grawled appeared caught off guard. "Aren't you supposed to be..."

"Supposed to be, and reality are two different things, General," Kipple said, turning a disproving stare at the man. "You're not going to muddle things up again. It's my turn, and this time, I'll show you how it's done properly." The two men were shooting each other daggers. "Of cause, if you have any concerns," he eyed the phone sitting on a table just behind Grawl. "YOU can talk to the Prime Alpha."

Lem's dad quickly interjected. "Excuse me, but who are you and what do YOU want with my son?" He looked over at Lem who seemed to be thinking hard about something as he eyed Kipple with suspicion.

"Your son was in the same building as the alien, Mr. Korplog," Kipple said. "And he didn't see a thing. I think that's a good enough reason to want to talk to him."

"I was in the same building as the alien, Doctor, and I didn't see a thing," his father said back. "Do you want to talk to me?"

"It's Professor," Kipple corrected with a roll of his eyes.

"Professor, how did you find out about this?" Grawl asked.

"Word travels fast, General," Kipple responded. "And besides, it doesn't take a genius like myself to add things up when you suddenly shift troops about. Also, you're not exactly subtle when you give orders."

"Beyond the Rings!" Everybody turned there heads as Lem shouted. Lem was pointing at Kipple with an air of excitement.

"Uhh, yes, that was my third book," Kipple answered in confusion.

"I LOVED that book!" Lem shouted as he leapt from his seat and rushed over to Kipple. "Oh, Professor Kipple, it's such an honour to meet you. I'm a big fan, I have all your books. Life, the Universe, and Everything. Other Worlds. Beyond the Rings. Aliens... Beyond the Rings was my favourite."

Kipple appeared some what caught off guard by Lem's outburst. "You... Really?"

"Yeah," Lem said as he headed for another room. "Could you just wait for a second?" They all watched him vanish from sight, listening to the sound of rummaging, before Lem returned holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other. "Professor," he asked, holding both out to him, "Could you sign my book?"

The book was 'Beyond the Rings' with half the cover taken up by the title, and the other half by Kipple himself, pointing towards the rings in the night sky. Kipple looked from the book, back to Lem and smiled.

"Why certainly young man." He took both the book and the pen. "Lem Korplog, wasn't it?" He asked. Lem nodded and Kipple signed the cover before handing it back to Lem who seemed ready to explode with glee.

The Captain leaned in close to Grawl and whispered, "Whaddayah know, the professor has a fan base."

"I'm liking this kid even less," Grawl whispered back. He then stepped forward. "Lem, I'm glad that you like Professor Kipple, but we need..."

"Hold on, General," Kipple stopped him by baring his path with an arm. "It's obvious this boy has nothing to do with the alien, isn't that right son?" Lem nodded enthusiasticly.

"Oh yeah, and besides," Lem said, "If I would've seen him, I would've called the army right away and left. After all, there might be harmful germs this alien could be carrying."

"Professor!" Grawl was silenced again as Kipple grabbed his arm and took him outside, closing the front door behind him. Lem watched as they stood on the front lawn, Grawl shouting at Kipple while the professor talked back calmly. Their discussion muted to warped sounds through the closed door.

"Is what he says true?" They all turned to see Lem's father talking with the captain. "Is the alien really harmless?"

"I'm sorry sir," the man replied, "But I'm not at liberty to say."

"But if it is harmless, shouldn't you let people know this? I mean we've lost one third of the towns population already. The economy around here has nearly ground to a halt."

"I'm sorry sir, but only the General can divulge that information." Lem turned to look out the front window at Grawl and Kipple on the lawn. He'd turned to see what they were doing after he realised that the muffle sounds of arguments had disappeared. Grawl had now adopted a serious expression on his face while Kipple was still calmly talking with some rather animated gestures.

"But..."

"Sir," the captain interrupted. "You're a former military man, right?" Lem's father nodded. "Surely you understand that there is information that shouldn't be made public? You know that the wrong information at the wrong time could cause a world of trouble." Lem's father nodded slowly. "So please, no more questions."

All were interrupted by the front door opening, and Grawl and Kipple entered the room. Both had unreadable expressions on their faces. "Captain," Grawl said "We've waisted our time here, let's go."

For a split second, the captain looked surprised, before quickly covering it up and ordering everyone out. Kipple exited leaving Grawl the only one left. "Sir," he said to Lem's father. "I apologise for wasting your time," he looked over at Lem. "And you're too, son. I'm sorry for questioning your loyalty to your government."

"That's okay," Lem's dad responded. "There was no harm done."

"Please, all of you," Grawl added suddenly. "It would be greatly appreciated and it would also be a great help to our operation if you didn't talk about what you heard or what transpired here." He paused. "Please?"

"You can count on me, sir," Lem's dad said. "My family will do our duty." The general nodded and saluted. Lem's dad returned the salute and Grawl left.

"So, dad," Ekle asked, drawing everyone's attention. "What do we do?"

"Exactly what the General asked of us," was the response. "We keep silent."

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Dad," Lem said. His father turned to face his son, and then smiled.

"Well, for a split second, I was ready to throw you to the firing squad, because I thought you were up to your old tricks again, but seriously, in league with the alien!" He scoffed. "I know you well enough to know even you're not dumb enough to try something like that." Lem nodded and gave a small chuckle. Ekle drew his lips tight into a straight line.

"I didn't know you had an idle?" It was his mother who spoke that.

"Professor Kipple?" Lem asked. "Yeah, I've followed his works. He's a real genius, knows his stuff."

"So what's he do?" His father asked as he folded his arms and cocked his head to one side.

"He talks about other worlds," Lem answered of the cuff. "How they'd be different from our own, what kind of life would grow there, that sort of thing."

"I see," his father replied with a small nod. "Fascinating." Lem detected a hint of something else there, but before he could pursue it any further, his mother chimed in.

"I bet you boys are hungry, right?" She winked. "I made your favourite."

"Oh boy," Eckle cried as he pushed past Lem and hurried to the kitchen.

Lem's head was still spinning as he headed for the kitchen. He couldn't believe it. Professor Kipple. He'd meet Professor Kipple. His cheer evaporated as another thought floated into his mind. How did the army know he'd been at the Planetarium? Did he leave behind something that pointed directly at him? What? And if that was the case, what else was there to link him to Chuck.

He swallowed a nervous lump. Was hiding Chuck the wrong course of action after all? That General guy had said that the alien was harmless. What if they just wanted to open negotiations with Humans? What if, what if. The longer he kept Chuck hidden the more trouble seemed to be piling up on his back.

He abruptly stopped as he was half sitting down at the kitchen table. Wait a slagging minute, how the Pit would the Army know that Chuck is harmless? The only reason they would, would be if they already knew about the existence of humans. Was Skiff right after all? Was there really some deep dark cover up behind all this?

"Honey?" Lem looked up to see his mother and the rest of his family all looking at him. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," Lem said, sitting down. "Just... thinking about something," he said. His mother shrugged while his father just stared expressionlessly back at him.

* * *

The captain looked over his shoulder as the Korplog house disappeared around the bend in the street. He then turned to Grawl and asked, "Sir, may I ask what's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious," Kipple said from the front seat. "The boy's plainly hiding the alien, but he doesn't trust us."

"But he trusts you." The captain said.

"Exactly," Kipple replied. "We need this boy on our side. Convince him that we're the good guys and handing the alien over to us is the best solution available."

"So it was him who helped the alien escape from the Planetarium. If that's the case, the kids clearly breaking the law, Why don't we just haul him in, and force him to lead us to the alien and take it?" Kipple shook his head.

"The alien is scared," Kipple said. "It's frightened, alone, that much we're able to understand. All eyewitness accounts of the alien's first arrival prove that. As for why we're leaving the kid alone, think about it like this; Put your self in it's place. You're alone, stranded on an alien world populated by natives you didn't expect to encounter with no idea what's going on. Your only means of escape is lost to you and you've no idea who you can trust. Suddenly, you have a contact. A native who is friendly. And this native has risked it's own safety to ensure your own. What would you do?

"I'd cling to that native like glue. Trust it with my life."

"Exactly," Kipple said, ponding a fist into his palm. "This boy is our only link to the alien, and he's it's only link to our world and since that's the case, forcing the boy to take us to the alien and taking it at gun point will turn the alien against us."

The Captain nodded. "I see, you want kid to take YOU to the alien by his own free will."

"Precisely, and since this boy is a fan of me, that shouldn't be to difficult." He grinned. "After all, anybody who realises the importance of my work and genius isn't that bad a person." Both the Captain and Grawl shot each other looks.

"Sir," the Captain said, "There's something else I wanted to talk to you about." Grawl signalled acknowledgement and the captain continued. "I don't think it was wise revealing our knowledge about the alien in front of the family like that. The kids father drilled me about the alien, asking how come we didn't inform the public that it's harmless."

"Yes, my actions were hasty," Grawl mused, "But the only other option would be to take the kid away for questioning, and his father would've screamed to the Rings up high if we'd done that with no evidence to link him to the alien. Especially since his father could back him up. The media would've pounced on that like hungry predators."

"I hope they will keep silent," the Captain said. "If they do talk that's going to come straight back to us and force us to answer a lot of questions that are going to be potentially embarrassing for both us and the Council of Thirteen."

"Yes, yes, I know," Grawl grunted unhappily. "And that would lead to trouble with the Southern Alliance." The Captain grimaced at the thought. "But, Mr Korplog did give me his word, and as a former soldier and Great War veteran, I believe he will keep it."

They rode the rest of the way back to their HQ in silence. The bright spot lights that surrounded the alien pod light up the area as they arrived back. As they exited the Jeep, Kipple snapped orders to his assistant, telling him to make room for a new guest they'll expect to have tomorrow.

"What are you doing?" The captain asked.

"We're going to do this the RIGHT way, Captain; My way." Kipple said. "Tomorrow, I'm going to accidentally run into young Mr Korplog and no doubt, while we're discussing my brilliance, I'll offer him a position as a temporary assistant, so that I can gain his trust."

"I already have a man left discreetly behind to watch the kid," Grawl said. "He's going to keep an eye on him for Kipple, and then the rest is up to him." Grawl yawned and looked at his watch. "It's been a long and frustrating day," he said. "I'm going to bed early. But I want..."

"General!" They both turned at the sound of a Sargent running up to them. "General Grawl," he cried out. He was waving about a bright purple flyer containing bold red writing, which he promptly handed over. "Sir, these are plastered all around the city."

Grawl grabbed it and gave it the once over. His eyes bulged and his teeth clashed together with such force the Captain was surprised they didn't shatter. "That stupid...!" He snarled before turned to face the Sargent.

"They've been distributed all over town, sir," the man replied as Grawl handed it to the Captain who uttered a short, sharp curse once he saw it. "While we were on manoeuvres around the Planetarium, that's when they did it."

The General gave a half snarl, half choking sound. "I have to call the Prime Alpha," he grunted as he made an abrupt about face and stormed off.

"What's going on?" Kipple demanded as he walked up to the group.

"This," Kipple took one of the flyers, and adjusted his monocle, and froze.

"Oh," was all he said. "This... Will cause problems."

**TBC...**


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN:** Hey guys. I'm back. First off, a big thank you for putting up with my lateness. I've got the whole story worked out in small sections, but the problem has always been filling in the blanks between those sections that doesn't turn it into padding. Second, I need to go back and do some proper editing of my story, like some goofs I made. Most importantly, I was never satisfied with the way I introduced the plot that Lem was a fan of Kipple. I meant to hint at it earlier on, but forgot about it. To me, the way I just shoe horned it in, just pops out of left field to me. Third, I'm on a writing streak at the moment, so I should have the next chapter up next week. Yes, next week, not three months from now; Next week. Anyway, enjoy, and as always, please, constrictive criticism wanted. It's the only way I learn._

* * *

The morning sun was already shining with intensity as Lem awoke and readied himself for the new day. He looked up at the ceiling, missing his sky light view of the stars above him. Now he had to settle for a room in the corner of a house that still stank of fresh paint. He hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen where Eckle was already finishing up his breakfast.

"Morning, honey," his mother chimed as he seated himself down at the table. Lem echoed the greeting as he devoured his own breakfast. "So," his mother said once he handed her his bowl. "What are you two getting up to today?"

Lem gave Eckle a questioning look, who nodded back. "Remember Lem," he said, "We promised to help Skiff over at the comic shop."

"Oh, right," Lem said. "Totally slipped my mind." He looked up at the clock. "We'd better hurry over, don't..." The door bell rang. Their mother glided out of the kitchen towards the front door. He watched his mother leave, before leaning in close to Eckle. "Are you sure it's wise to go see Chuck? The army knows about us. They might be watching."

"But we promised Chuck," Eckle responded. "We said we'd be back, and Skiff might panic if we..."

"Oh boys!" They turned as their mother called from the front door. "You have a visitor." Both brothers shot each other worried looks before turning to see Skiff walk through the front door.

"Skiff?" Lem almost cried out in surprise. "What are you doing here?" He then quickly added, "I thought we were supposed to meet you at the comic shop." Lem also frowned at the shirt Skiff wore. That stupid white tee-shirt he often wore at the comic shop, the one emblazoned on the front with a cartoon bespectacled nerd standing triumphantly over a dead alien corpse holding duel smoking guns. The legend on the back read _Alien Squad – We can handle it from here. We've seen all the movies._ The comic shop sold those things by the boat load.

"Yes you were," Skiff said, nervously fidgeting with a bright purple flyer. "But I need you guys over there, right away." The two brothers both rose from the table wordlessly, and followed Skiff outside.

"Be back before dusk you two," their mother cried out as they started walking down the drive way to Skiff's car.

"We will." Eckle answered as they all got in, and drove off down the street.

Lem watched as their house disappeared around the corner, before turning back to Skiff. "Alright, what's the deal? Where's Chuck?" He paused. "And why are you wearing that?"

"Chuck's fine," Skiff said, as he turned a corner. "And what's wrong with the shirt? I thought I'd wear this so that anyone who sees it knows I won't be hiding the alien." He gave a conspiratorial wink. "Throw them off the track."

Lem wanted to shout at him that that logic was stupider than his theory that Lem had been under alien mind control. He wanted to, but he didn't; he just let it slide. Skiff gave him a look, as if expecting to be chastised for his idea. He blinked in surprise at the lack of response, before he shook his head, as he remembered something else that needed attention. He reached for the folded up purple flyer beside him and thrust it into Lem's hands. "Besides, there's something else you guys need to worry about."

Lem looked at the flyer, before taking it. "Hey," he said as he unfolded it. "I saw one of these the other..." He trailed off. Eckle, who was in the back seat, leaned forward to get a better look.

The top half of the flyer was taken up by bold red letters that read, "Come To Glipforg." Under that it read, "The Alien Town Now Has A Real Alien." The second half of the flyer was taken up by a cartoonist's representation of Chuck in his domed helmet and white suit. Lem looked at the picture. It wasn't half bad. It wasn't even exaggerated ether. He wondered how they got a picture of the Chuck to work from in the first place.

Suddenly, the implications of the flyer hit him. "Oh Pit." He muttered.

"Exactly." Skiff muttered.

"Let me see it," Eckle pinned, as he strained to grab the flyer. Lem handed it to him. Eckle took only a few seconds to read the whole thing before he gave a sharp intake of breath.

"Where did this come from?" Lem asked.

"They're plastered all over the whole town," Skiff responded as they exited the residential area and entered the business district. "Everybody's saying that the mayor's behind it. There's even rumours that he's even managed to raise the quarantine barrier to let people in."

As if to emphasise the meaning, small knots of civilians started sprouting along the side walks. In fact, Skiff had to stop for three groups that crossed at the pedestrian crossings.

"Great," Lem muttered as they approached the comic shop. "Just great." Skiff parked his car outside the shop, and they all filed out. Looking around at the sparse crowds, Lem couldn't help but wonder how they would move Chuck if the need ever arose. It would be much more difficult now.

"Hey," Eckle pointed across the street. "Will you get a load of that."

The others turned to see a group of teenagers wearing costumes. Alien costumes that were based somewhat around Chuck's space suit. Lem raised a brow in curiosity at the sight, before shaking his head.

"Freaks," he muttered as he headed for the front door. Skiff was still standing by his car, shop keys in hand, observing the crazily clad collection.

"Not bad," he murmured. "Although that helmet looks way too fake. What is that; A fish bowl? The stitching is too visible on that one... Now that's an interesting idea. I wonder if she makes those things for sale or hobby? I hope they wouldn't mind if I took a few photos?"

"Skiff?" He turned to see Lem empathetically pointing at the locked shop door.

* * *

One of the most interesting scientific inventions, as far as Grawl was concerned, was the ability to hold a multi-way conversation over the telephone. Even better was the fact that the conversation was being held over a secure line that was being scrambled at one end and unscrambled at the other, leaving anyone in the middle who just happened to be listening in, listening to nothing but gibberish.

Not that it mattered right now. As far as Grawl was concerned, what the Mayor was spouting was gibberish.

"You can't just criticise me like that without knowing the dyer situation I'm in," he responded. "I not only have to look out for my people, but it's future as well. Pit, we've already lost one quarter of our population. The economy has officially ground to a halt. Only the basics are still going."

"Mayor Toslog," the Prime Alpha said, "The quarantine was in place for a reason. I understand you're looking out for your people, but opening it, and doing it behind the General's back, amounts to treason."

"Please, sir," the Mayor begged. "The towns people are all leaving. We're going to have a ghost town before too long. People aren't working. The lower class workers, who do all the menial jobs, are suffering."

"What do you mean, suffering?" Grawl cut in. "It's only been three days."

"Going on four," the Mayor shot back. "As I said earlier, only the basics are running, and it's the presence of your soldiers and their spending money that's keeping the town alive. And even then, that's just barely, considering that many of them don't get much time off. What people that are left are far too busy to spend money. The whole economic situation is stretched dangerously tight at the moment. All it's takes is one little shift in any direction and the whole thing with snap. Lifting the barrier will help breath more life into the town before something gives way."

"You could've just waited until I got the alien..."

"And you haven't in three days going on four!" The Mayor snapped back. "All your troops and what do you have to show for it? Nothing!" Grawl's jaw tightened in frustration. "By the Pit, it's just like that last time, when..."

"Mayor please!" The Prime Alpha cut in. "What happened last time, was not entirely Grawl's fault. He was the commanding officer on the spot, and used his best judgement to his ability."

"Then why is he still in charge when he clearly can't do, what he's been training the past 10 years for?"

"Because nobody else has the experience in this field like the General dose, that's why!" The Prime Alpha sounded irritated. "My predecessor saw the logic in that ten years ago, and ten years later, I do to."

"Thank you, sir," Grawl said.

"What about contamination?" The Prime Alpha asked. "Is what the Beaker-Boys telling me true?"

"Yes sir," Grawl answered. "They all say if the alien was carrying deadly germs we'd all show some kind of symptoms by now. In fact, they're more worried about the alien being susceptible to our germs."

"See?" The Mayor retorted. "There's no need for the barrier."

"But someone from the outside could give the alien germs," The Prime Alpha said.

"I think the logic, if reversed would be the same," the Mayor said back. There was a silence as if the Prime Alpha was thinking about that. "Sir," the Mayor quickly piped up, trying to keep the initiative. "It won't cause any problems, in fact, I think this could work for all of us. Think about it. If this alien is as crowd shy as the smarts say it is, then it will stay away from large crowds, and that should narrow down it's hiding locations and help the General find the alien much faster. After all, Glipforg is just a town, not a city."

"I don't know..."

"I could cater to the media?" The Mayor added helpfully. "That should keep them off your back, Genearl. Allow you to do your job."

For a moment, Grawl actually thought that sounded fine. Having the media off his back would be a Rings sent miracle. "You're forgetting one thing, Mayor. Having all those people in the town, what if they run across the alien and try to bring it in them selves? This could lead to huge problems. What if there ends up being no place for the alien to hide and it ends up being cornered and lashes out?"

"What if, what if," The Mayor sounded annoyed. "We could spend all day sitting here arguing the pros and cons of this, and it STILL won't get us the alien."

"He's right," the Prime Alpha agreed. "Maybe this will work for us. Mayor, I will allow you to have your way for now, but if things turn nasty, Grawl will have what ever power he wants to do what ever he wants, understand?"

"Yes sir," the Mayor said hastily.

"Good, now I'm going to have to ask you to leave, I have important military matters to discus with the General. Also, I have the Foreign Affairs Alpha joining us very soon to discuss the international situation as well. These discussions your not entitled to listen in on."

"Yes sir," the Mayor snapped. "Goodbye, and thank you from the bottom of my..."

"Go!" There was a click, and the Mayor was gone.

"Sir?" Grawl asked. "Why did you agree to that?"

"There's something that's bothering me," the Prime Alpha said. "Why would the Mayor be all panicky about the economy like this in just four days. Maybe three weeks or a month I can understand, but four days? Something's up. I AM a politician after all, General. I can smell political pressure a mile away."

"You think somebody might be forcing him to do this?"

"And I want to know who?" The Prime Alpha said. "I know the man. I've met him on at least half a dozen occasions. He's a master sales man, but he wouldn't be so stupid as to operate behind our backs. If we give him what he wants, that'll calm him down, and maybe even allow him to drop his guard. However, I don't want your people dealing with this. I'm going to have the Commonwealth Rangers to look into the matter."

The Commonwealth Rangers were a nation wide police force operated by the federal government. They had jurisdiction everywhere. The Prime Alpha continued speaking. "That reminds me, you might want to replace the militia with your own troops so something like that never happens again."

Grawl shook his head, even though he knew the Prime Alpha couldn't see him doing so over the phone. With more of the town militia being organised, they had been hastily installed at the barricade's outside of town. This was one of the draw backs to when Grawl had ordered more men pulled for the search for the alien back at the planetarium. That militia group that had been used to replace the soldiers at the barricade was being commanded by a few low ranking members of the town council, which is how the Mayor managed to lift the barricade.

"No sir," he answered. "I need every available man I have right now, unless you can send me more troops?"

Before that question could be answered, there was a loud beep, indicating that someone was joining the conversation. There were three clicks, and another voice flowed over the wire.

"-lo? Hello, can you here me?" Grawl recognised him as the Foreign Affairs Alpha.

"Yes we can, Fleg," The Prime Alpha said. "Thank you for joining me."

"The pleasure is all mine, your excellency," he responded. "Is the General present?"

"I am," Grawl answered. "What's the foreign situation?"

"Complicated," Fleg replied, and then got straight to the point. "Why haven't you found the alien yet?" His question came out sounding flustered. Grawl sighed.

"I know you got pressures, sir. I know -"

"Do you? Really?" The Foreign Affairs Alpha cut Grawl off. There was a long pause, before the man continued. "I have diplomats from every island nation, city state, and big-shot wannabe, including those from the Alliance sphere of influence if you can believe it, all banging on my door demanding a seat a the discussion table regarding this whole affair. It doesn't matter how many times I tell them we have no idea what's going on, we don't have the alien; They don't care. They won't listen. To them, I'm the man who's in direct contact with the Prime Alpha and who advises him on matters regarding their vile little country. And the worst of it is, I just can't tell them to take a picnic in the Pit because some of them, at least, we need to keep the Alliance in check."

The Prime Alpha mused conservatively. "And what are some of those people doing right now?"

"Only contributing to my already severe head ache, sir," the Councillor replied. "There's only so many my Beta can handle, but I also have all the governments of the border countries screaming at our ambassadors about the military build-up on the Alliance side, begging us to send more of everything to their specific country, while citing line and verse of our treaty obligations."

"And the Alliance?"

"Their ambassador is stalking me," the Councillor said through gritted teeth. "Did you know the Flurking bastered was waiting outside my house when I got home the other day. Two hours he was sitting on my front porch. And then he has the nerve to follow me inside, all the while demanding answers about the alien landing and our military build up."

"I see," The Prime Alpha replied. He to was silent, and then asked, "So what do you need?"

"I need some answers to give," the Councillor answered. "I need orders, sir. I need to know what we're going to tell our friends, as well as our not so friendly neighbours. I need to get on the phone to our border allies and give them something to make them relax. The most important piece of information I'm going to need is the alien it's self. Everyone's going to demand hard evidence of this and only seeing the alien in the skin is going to convince a lot of people." There was a brief pause as the sounds of papers rustling were faintly heard over the phone. "Plus I've seen the symbol of allegiance it bears. I also want to ask it about the S-"

"That will be a military matter for now, Councillor," Grawl interrupted. On the other end, the Councillor guffawed.

"If you don't do something soon, General, we will have a REAL military situation in our hands. Let me spell out the big picture for you. Everyone one who is anyone has pulled out their guns, unsure of which direction to point them in. All the others who's gun aren't as big are jumping up and down, screaming and pointing at the other guy. Whom do we aim our guns at? Is there going to be a military threat? Is this visit a friendly hello, or an advanced scout? All the experts say the former, but how do we prove this? And while we stand about with our guns drawn with no clear and present danger, the others who also have their guns out will start to get suspicious."

"Well," Grawl said slowly. "We have a clear idea on where the Alien might be hiding."

"Then go get it!" The Councillor snapped. "That'll take a lot of my shoulders."

"It's not that easy." Grawl responded. "Some kid is hiding him."

"Some kid!" Both the Prime Alpha and the Foreign Affairs Alpha said in unison.

"Let me explain," Grawl added quickly. "We know the Alien is scared. However, he's managed to make friends with this boy, and we believe it trusts him. This is a positive sign that it's friendly. Since that's the case, we're trying to 'Convince' the boy that we're the good guys, and to get him to 'Convince' the alien of this, so that the alien will come to us rather than us coming to the alien."

"Oh, I see," the Councillor muttered. Grawl smiled. Both men would understand political manoeuvring and negotiations.

"How long to do you think it'll take?" The Prime Alpha asked.

"Kipple is handling that operation," Grawl said. "He says he can do it within 48 hours." There was a long silence from the other side.

"Is there any way he could accelerate that deadline?" The Councillor asked. He sounded nervous.

"You'll have to talk directly to him about that," Grawl answered. "He tries to ignore me as much as possible." Grawl hopped by adding that last sentence, that he'd gain some control back over what effectively was his operation. The Councillor just 'Mmmed' over the phone.

"I'll talk to Kipple," The Prime Alpha said, breaking the silence. "I know how best to deal with him. In the mean time Grawl, this raising of the barrier will cause problems for your men. I want to do something for you to make up for it. What do you need?"

"More personal, sir." Grawl said off the cuff. "When do my reinforcements come, and how many will there be?"

The Prime Alpha was silent quite a bit longer this time. "Well, that's not such an easy question to answer, General," he said. "Things are... difficult." He sounded defensive, not a good sign. "The High Command have been mustering all forces, including our reserves towards the southern border, and I've had to agree."

"Sir?" Grawl was confused. The Prime Alpha answered the question before he could ask.

"Some transcripts intelligence has been able to decode have being throwing around Green Dawn." There was no comment from the Foreign Affairs Alpha, while Grawl just tightened his grip on the phone. From what intelligence had decoded, Green Dawn was an Alliance plan which hypothesised discovery of the Northern Powers intention to launch a surprise attack on the Great Southern Continent. In which such a case, the Alliance military doctrine was the same as anyone else's; the best defence is a good offence. The plan called for an pre-emptive strike using the forces stationed along the border countries. It wasn't a full-scale invasion plan, merely a decisive battle plan which was designed to destroy the armies of the enemy on their own soil and force their leaders to the negotiation table.

By the Rings. This could mean another war. The last war had been terrible enough, and the one thing this world didn't need was another one. What would they call a second Great War? The Greater War?

The Prime Alpha's voice brought him out of his daydream. "So, the sooner you get this Alien in your custody, the sooner every one can clam down. Time is running out General, and your actions could mean the difference between war and peace."

* * *

Chuck was sitting, cross legged on the floor with his back to them, in the shops store room when they walked in. He was writing on a note pad, while occasionally leaving gaps that he filled with crude drawings. Lem craned forward, and got a glimpse of intricate regularity that could only be human writing. In Lem's eye, it looked like control squiggles leaning to the right.

The doodles that Chuck had drawn were of products that obviously had been advertised on TV. There was even a few of Skiff's robot toys was crammed in. Chuck had been busy as a good number of papers lay folded over the top of the note pad.

Chuck looked up as Lem's shadow fell over him, and he smiled. "Lem." He said. He turned and greeted Eckle too.

"Chuck okay?" Lem asked, checking him over. No signs of any surgery.

"Chuck good." He replied. "Skiff, good. Skiff teach Chuck."

"Skiff teach Chuck, what?" Lem asked.

"Local aliens." He flipped back a few pages on his note pad, and showed Lem a picture he'd drawn. "Aliens, on next planet." Lem's did a double take. On the page was a seductive pose of a rather buxom woman dressed up in a skin tight suit holding a death ray. "All female, no males. Raid this planet for males." Lem was flabbergasted, before he finally realised what was going on, and he turned a suspicious eye towards Skiff.

"What movie was that?" He asked.

"Sultry Sirens of Stshan." Skiff replied. "It was on last night as part of the sci-fi classics."

"Skiff, you idiot, he thinks they're real aliens." He sighed before pointing at the picture. "Chuck, movie. Movie, story. Not real. Movie like radio; Entertainment." Chuck looked at the picture, and back at Skiff.

"Skiff say, this real."

"I said it was a REAL classic." Skiff responded in his defence. "I didn't know he'd take what I said for a literal translation." Chuck looked confused, before flipping back through more pages, eyeing some of what he'd written with suspicion. Then he set about editing his notes.

"By the Pit, what else have you been teaching him?" Upon saying that, Chuck looked up from his work.

"Lem?" He turned to face Chuck. "What Pit?" Lem blinked, while Eckle laughed. Skiff frowned. "You say Pit, lots. You, Eckle, Skiff, all say Pit, lots. Say Pit when angry. Say Pit when... surprise? Say Pit when good. No understand. What Pit?"

"How can anyone not know about the Great Rings or the Pit?" Eckle guffawed.

"Now this will be a challenge," Skiff said. "How do you explain things like spirits and the after life to an alien?"

"How do you mean?" Lem asked.

"Well, being such an advanced race, humans wouldn't have burdened themselves with such things like religion, believing instead in logical creation and evolution." Skiff said. "Instead focusing on technological advancement. How else could they have mastered space flight before us?"

Lem nodded. The Pit was a mythical realm, where your soul went if you were bad in life. It actually was an extinct volcano located on the middle continent. When civilisation began, primitive tribes would look into the huge volcano and see nothing but mist swirling around in the bottom, along with the unusual shape of the mountain, the wind would be sucked down into the creator, and whistle through the honeycomb like rock, producing a loud mournful sound, which people said were the cries of the damned. It also didn't help that the volcano had an abundance of iron, which resulted in spectacular lighting shows when ever it stormed. So naturally religious teachings told that it was the home of tormented souls.

He looked up at the ceiling. And the Great Rings. Again, in the dawn of civilisation, before anyone knew what the Great Rings were, they believed that they were in fact the souls of the departed, watching down upon the world from high above. Of cause, science had proven it used to be the planet's third moon that got too close to the plant's gravitation field and was torn apart, long before the planet even had a breathable atmosphere.

Before anyone could say anything, there was a knock at the back door. All present froze. "Who is it?" Skiff asked. The only reply was another series of knocks. Lem made motions to Eckle to hide Chuck. Chuck was hastily pulled to his feet, and haphazardly shoved into a closet. Skiff grabbed a plunger and a garbage can lid and approached the door.

"Who's there?" He asked again. The knocks repeated themselves. Slowly, Skiff turned the handle to opened the door.

"Wait!" Lem cried out. "Not until..." The door was suddenly flung open wide, causing Skiff to fly back into a shelf with a cry of alarm. Lem tensed up, only to relax as the whirring squat form of Rover weaved and dodged around all the junk on the floor to come to a halt right at the very closet Chuck was hiding in.

Rover let out a series of high-pitched beeping sounds, and Chuck emerged. "Rover!" He cried out, and stepped out into the open. He switched back to his excited human talk as he barked and coughed at the robot who in turn leaned forward and opening a small compartment in it's front section, dumped a whole mess of rocks at Chuck's feet.

Chuck crouched down and immediately started sorting through the rocks samples at his feet.

"Rover!" Eckle cried out. "By the Rings, we'd forgotten about him."

"Him?" Lem asked.

"Well, isn't it a him?" Eckle asked.

Lem opened his mouth to reply but all present were suddenly caught off guard by the loud female like shriek that pierced the air. Lem spun around and wasn't entirely surprised to discover that that cry had come from Skiff.

"A robot! By the Great Father Flurking Rings, a real live, genuine alien robot!" With almost super speed, he moved from the door to leering over the robot with a look that frightened Lem.

"Oh yeah," Eckle said, pointing at Rover's base. "Check this out Skiff. Wheels."

"Wheels?" Skiff's movement was like lighting. One second he was standing, the next, he was on his stomach. "How do they work?" Chuck gave him a confused look, before Skiff calmed down and asked, "Chuck, how Robot move?"

"Robot?" Chuck asked. Skiff pointed at Rover.

"Robot." He said, impatiently. "How Robot move? How move with wheels?" Chuck looked annoyed at being interrupted from his rock research but none the less complied with Skiff's request. He had Rover moved forward, backwards, spin around on the spot and finally traverse the room.

Skiff took extreme interest in Rover's movements as it moved over a pile of discarded news papers. "Look at that." He pointed. "The wheels seem to have some sort of suspension system that allows them to move into different angles to accommodate different rises and depressions in the terrain."

"Cool." Eckle commented. Lem frowned in annoyance.

"Yeah, that's nice," he interrupted "But what are we..."

"Skiff," Chuck asked. "How people move with rock?" He held up a sample.

"No problem, Chuck," Skiff said. "Wait here." He exited the room into the comic store, and returned a moment later with an old children's book. He placed in down on the bench, before heading over to an old metal cupboard, and pulling out a pet rock that the store also sold. He motioned for Chuck to come over, before opening the book.

"Chuck, many, many years before, People walk. Then, people find rock." He pointed to the pictures in the children's book. It showed cave men walking around, walking, carrying their prey over their backs or between them. He took the sample that Chuck held. "Viterousblanco." He said.

"He can't seem to pronounce big words." Lem quickly cut in. "I just call it, Rock. He understands the word 'Hover,' though."

"Okay," Skiff said. He picked up the pet rock. "Normal rock." He held up the sample. "Hover rock." He tossed the pet rock up into the air and caught it. He did the same to the sample. Then gave both to Chuck. "Chuck do. Do what Skiff do." He mimed throwing them up into the air.

Chuck nodded and did the same. His eyes widened. "Hover rock, not heavy." The sample of Viterousblanco was lighter despite it's rock coating. Skiff motioned for the sample which Chuck gave back to him. Skiff took him back to the picture book. Turning the page, it showed cave men discovering the light weight of Viterousblanco. It also showed a picture of them breaking the thin outer cover to discover the metal within.

Skiff held up the sample, and crumbled the outer layer, revealing the shiny core. Showing it to Chuck, he dropped it. Chuck followed it all the way to the ground and gave a sharp intake of breath as it stopped, almost bouncing, from the ground. He dropped to his stomach just as fast as Skiff had done with Rover, looking at the rock, floating off the ground.

Chuck gave the core a light tap with his finger and watched as it skimmed across the ground, before finally smacking into the wall on the other side of the room. Chuck tried to go after it, but Skiff brought him back to the book.

The next series of pictures that Skiff showed, had the cave men finding larger samples of Viterousblanco. And it showed them pushing the much larger cores along, and even pushing dead animals around, draped decoratively over them. The next pictures after that showed the series carved into crude bowls, that could carry more animals and even tools. The next series of pictures showed people more advanced, using large animals to pull their Viterousblanco made bowls with food and tools and even other people. After that, the bowl's became smaller, and finally being smelted into plates that lined the bottom's of carts and war chariots, and buggies.

Finally, the invention of the internal combustion engine, allowed for motion that didn't require animal power. Suddenly, Chuck flipped back a few pages to the start, making him cry out. This startled everyone present as he suddenly pushed past Skiff to rummage through the small pile of objects he had gathered around his note pad.

Lem leaned over to see the page that Chuck had stopped on was that of a cut-away view of the planet, highlighting the plant's core.

He came out with a magnet, and approached the sample of Viterousblanco. Slowly, he bent down, and aimed it at the sample. It very slowly edged away from him, not rolling away, but the sample refused to rubberneck with the end of magnet. Chuck was grinning as he stood up holding up the magnet he cried out in his own language.

"Slow down, Chuck," Lem said. "What say you?"

"Magnet!" Chuck cried out, still smiling. "Rock, magnet." He pointed at the ground. "Ground, push rock. Push rock away from planet."

Of cause. Viterousblanco had positive magnetic properties that reacted to the planet's own magnetic core. That's what caused the metal to hover. Lem shrugged his shoulders. "So?" He asked. Everyone knew that.

"Earth." Chuck pointed to the ceiling. "Earth no have hover rock. All normal rock."

"You have no Viterousblanco?" Eckle asked. "But that's stupid. How could you not have..." He trailed off as it suddenly dawned on him.

"Exactly," Skiff said, finishing Eckle's own unspoken comment. "With no Viterousblanco, or any equivalent for it, it makes sense that humans would have to find a different form of locomotion." All eyes turned to Rover's wheels.

"But... how can they not have any Viterousblanco?" Eckle asked. "The very idea is..."

"Alien?" Lem finished. All eyes turned to look at Lem, before turning back to Chuck, who was now yapping excitedly and pointing a small black box at the sample of Viterousblanco; occasionally turning it around to speak directly into it. Lem recognised it at the camera like thing he'd been using when Lem was doing his janitor work back at the Planetarium. So Chuck didn't leave all his stuff behind.

"I seem to have made him extremely happy," Skiff said.

"That's because Lem couldn't explain Viterousblanco to Chuck before hand." Eckle said. "Chuck nearly dismantled the Planetarium Van trying to figure it out."

"Well, don't worry little buddy," Skiff said pulling himself up straight and tall. "That's what Skiff is here to do."

Lem frowned again. "Hey, I taught him how to speak." Skiff looked over with a surprised look, and suddenly grinned, his braces standing out.

"Are you jealous?" He asked suspiciously, a slight grin forming on his lips.

Lem hesitated perhaps a bit too long. "No." He snapped. "I just believe that credit should go where credit is due."

"Then you must admit that my teaching methods are just as good, maybe even better than yours?"

"And you taught him that a sci-fi movie was real, Skiff." Lem retorted.

"And you failed to learn the basic essentials of Chuck's biology," Skiff shot back. Lem opened his mouth to respond, but Skiff kept up his attack. "You know Lem, all these years you've been giving me a hard time over my behaviour, and yet when we do encounter an actual alien, my knowledge proves to be useful." He paused on purpose to let that sink in, then said, "Why can't you accept the fact that I'm more helpful for Chuck in this scenario than you?"

Lem just glared back at Skiff. Finally, he turned around and headed for the back door, which was still open. Instead of closing it, he just walked on outside.

"Wait!" Eckle cried out. "Lem! Where are you going?"

"I need some time alone." He snapped back.

"But what about Chuck?"

"Hey, Skiff's the all knowing master, he can help Chuck, after all, I can't." And he was gone.

Both Eckle and Skiff looked at each other, before turning back to Chuck. The human was still yapping and coughing into his black box, oblivious to what was transpiring around him.

Eckle started after Lem. "We have to..." He was halted as Skiff put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him go, little buddy," he said, closing the door. "He'll be back. In the mean time..." He looked over at Rover, who was residing near Chuck. Eckle didn't like the gleam that appeared in Skiff's eyes.

* * *

Lem stalked down the street in a huff; Ignoring civilians and soldiers alike. He just had to get out of there, and away from Skiff. Skiff had always been annoying before, but this time, he really pushed Lem's buttons.

As much as it pained him to admit it, he was jealous. Chuck was his discovery, his claim to fame. He'd made first contact. Taught Chuck how to speak. How dare Skiff just take over like that, and then crow that he was the true genius.

Lem kicked a can out of his way with such force it actually sailed over to the other side of the street. He ignored the cry of alarm from the tourist he nearly hit as he rounded the next corner and continued all the way down to the end of the street.

There, he found his usual hangout for when he was depressed. The bollarama. It was here he liked to go when ever he was depressed. He walked through the front door and was surprised to find the place crowded.

"Lem!" He turned towards the voice, the reason he came here. "Over here!" He walked over to the counter where Neera worked behind.

"Hey Neera," he greeted her as he sat down, then jab a thumb over his shoulder. "Who are all these people?"

"Out of towners," Neera said as she filled up another milk shake. "After the barrier was lifted we were swamped." Lem eyed the crowd. Tourists. A near by commotion turned Lem's attention to some fat guy, his fat mole and his three brats were chowing down on hamburgers and fries. Well, the parents were, the kids were whining about when they were going to see the alien. The man was calmly telling them over and over as soon as they had lunch, while the woman just slurped loudly away on a milkshake. Lem turned back to give Neera a sympathetic nod.

"All day?" Lem asked. Neera grimaced and nodded. "So, are you going to be leaving with Valgor?" He asked, changing the subject.

Neera rolled her eyes. "No," she said. "Me dad wants to stay, and my mother doesn't want to go anywhere without my father." Lem nodded.

"And now Valgor's gone."

"Actually, he's still here." Lem's head shot up.

"But, I thought he..."

"With the massive influx of business, the Mayor convinced Valgor's dad to stay behind and help manage it." Lem started to speak before she answered, "The army took over the air port before the whole family could fly out, delaying their escape. The Mayor's constant badgering delayed them just long enough for the barrier to be raised."

Lem nodded and grunted. "Yay for capitalism."

"Don't let him get you down, Lem," Neera said with a reassuring pat on his shoulder.

"Why do you even go out with him?" Lem asked.

"Did you know he's quite the artist?" That caught Lem by surprise.

"Valgor? An artist?" Neera nodded.

"He's a great sculptor. He can do wonders with his hands. He showed me some of his work, too. It's magnificent. But he also paints. Now, those aren't anything to laugh at mind you."

"Wow," Lem muttered. "So how come nobody knows about this?"

"His dad wants him to follow in the family business, that's why." Neera said. "He HATES what Valgor dose. Says it's a waist of time. That you can't get rich with art."

"Wait!" Lem interrupted. "Everybody knows the guy's mansion is like, wall to wall with paintings." Neera just shrugged. "Hypocrite," Lem muttered. It was then, as he sat there, for the first time in his life, he actually felt pity for Valgor. "You know," he said to Neera. "I think I'm actually feeling regret for tampering with Valgor's car." Neera smiled.

"That's what I like in a guy," she said. "While most girls are attracted to a bad boy, I prefer those who have an unknown talented side. This shows Underneath the tough outer shell, lies a hart of gold." Lem returned the smile.

"Then, what's my talent?" He asked.

"Exploration." She said. "The unknown is no boundary for you, it's the place to be." She had to take another drink order, six in total, before she came back. "Being couped up in a small town like this must be murder on you. You want to get out there and explore where no man has ever gone."

"The stars," Lem said. Neera smiled again.

"Just like when we first met. Remember? When we were kids?"

"Yeah," Lem said. "Our fathers were good army buddies looking for a place to settle down with their families, so they chose this place. Nice and quite." He looked up at the ceiling. "I remember talking to you. Telling you that I was going to build a rocket ship and travel the stars."

"I remember putting a bug down the back of your shirt, and pushing you into the mud." Neera giggled. Lem chuckled.

"You were a little hellion."

"And you were oh so perfect." Lem's smile faded.

"My, how time has changed."

"So, what did you do this time?" Neera asked. Lem gave her a surprised look. "You only used to come in here when you were sad or depressed."

"Oh, don't worry, I haven't broken the law..." he trailed off. Unsure of the truthfulness of that statement. For a moment, he was unable to find anything to say to her. Finally, he leaned forwards and said, "Neera? Can I get you to meet me at Haglog's Comic shop when you get off work?"

"Sure," she said. Then her eyes widened. "Wait! That's where Skiff works."

"Yeah, I know," Lem said waving her comment away, "But I need to show you..."

"Well, well, fancy meeting you again." Both turned to see a strange little man wearing a trench coat, scarf and fedora hat, along with a monocle clenched between one eye.

"P-professor Kipple?" Lem stammered.

"Ahh, you remember me," Kipple said with a charming smile. "Now don't tell me... Lem Korplog, right?" Lem nodded enthusiastically.

"You remembered my name." He said with astonishment. "But, sir, what are you doing here?"

"Well, even geniuses have to have breaks every now and then, so I asked a local where was a decent place to grab a quick bite, and he directed me here." He looked around with contempt. "Not the kind of place I'd normally visit. I was about to leave when I saw you over here, chatting with your lovely girlfriend." Lem's antenna drooped in embarrassment. Neera giggled. "Oh, did I make a misjudgement?"

Before Lem could reply, a new voice entered the conversation. "Hey, I know you!" All three turned to see a tall man wearing butternut pinstripe suit, light red tie, and brown fedora hat that was pushed back from his head, exposing his antenna. "Your from the family who's house the alien landed in front of." The nearest sets of heads all turned.

"Keep your voice down," Lem muttered, as the man abruptly climbed atop the stool next to Lem. "Look, I can't tell you much other than yes, it did." He paused. "Hey, who are you anyway?"

"Da'Zar's my name." He said with an exaggerated tip of his hat. "And as for why I'm talking to you, I'm a reporter with JFIP TV."

"Excuse me," Kipple said with irritation as he leant forward. "But can't you observe I was having an intelligent conversation with the young man?"

The reporter turned to look down at Kipple with distaste. "And you are?"

"Someone with a greater intellect than you could ever hope to experience." Kipple snapped. "So, why don't you do us, and society a favour by visiting another continent? Preferably in the Southern Hemisphere."

The Reporter burst out laughing, causing more heads to turn towards the group. "By the Rings, Do you make up for your short stature with a gargantuan ego?" Da'Zar guffawed.

Kipple glared at him through slits. "Ego?" He scoffed through his teeth. "I just so happen to be smarter than everyone else." He leaned back and folding his arms across his chest, smiled. "Through out my life, I've noticed that all my opponents have accused me of having an ego when they can't argue with my logic."

Da'Zar doubled over with laughter. "By the Rings, that's rich." He cleared the tears from his eyes as he straightened up. "That was a good one. Hey tell me another? I haven't had a good laugh like this in ages."

"My job is explaining the unknown," Kipple answered with a straight face. "Your job involves making the unknown as frightening as possible." That finally scored a direct hit on the reporter. It was his turn to look annoyed.

"My job as a dedicated truth seeker is something I'm proud of." Kipple didn't even blink.

"My dear sir," Kipple replied. "If your able to get up in the morning, brush your teeth and visit the lavatory. I wouldn't be proud; I'd be flummoxed."

"Excuse me?" They both turned to face Lem. "I was having a conversation with Professor Kipple before. I'd like to continue that conversation if you don't mind." Kipple beamed with triumph. Da'Zar didn't even react. He just gave a respectful nod, and then reaching into his coat pocket, pulled out a scrap of paper.

"That's okay, you're busy now, but if you ever feel like talking..." He thrust the card into Lem's hand. "That's the hotel I'm staying at. Room 2B." And just like that, he was gone.

"Some people can be so annoying," Kipple muttered glaring the direction the reporter had left.

"Sir?" Kipple turned back to Lem. "That comment about fear spreading? Do you think the alien is really harmless?"

"Of cause," Kipple said as a matter of factly. "I've read the reports about your interview with the army. You your self said that the alien acted scared. Think about it like this: Why would a solitary alien travel Rings knows how many light years just to engage in hostilities. By it's self."

Lem was silent a bit longer.

"Tell you what," he said, reaching into his coat pocket. "My current assistant has way too much work to handle by himself at the moment. If you're interested, would you like to help? And by helping, you'd be helping me with my research."

"Would I ever!" Lem almost leapt from the seat. Working with Professor Kipple? By the Rings, that would be a dream come true. "Oh yes, yes!" Lem cried. Kipple beamed in delight.

"Excellent." He said, giving Lem a reassuring pat on the arm. "Come around back to your old house tomorrow at 7am sharp. You can work first hand with me as I explore the alien pod, from the inside."

"The inside of the... By the Rings!" Lem cried, causing heads to turn once again. This time, a few people moved to another location. "Wow, thanks professor!" He cried out, vigorously pumping his hand up and down.

Kipple readjusted his monocle and waved good-bye, before exited the dinner. "Hey," Neera said. "He didn't even order anything."

Lem was too excited to notice. "By the Rings, Neera, by the Rings! Professor Kipple wants ME, to work along side HIM!"

"Inside the alien pod?" Neera said. "That sounds pretty dangerous to me, Lem."

"Oh don't worry, Neera, it's harmless," Lem said in excitement. "I mean, nothing can hurt me. I mean, wow! Professor Kipple wants me to HELP him!"

"And you know that how?" Neera asked. Finally, Lem's brain caught up with him.

"Neera," he said turning to face here with a serious expression. "Do you remember what we were talking about before the conversation went eight ways south to the border?" She nodded.

"Yeah, you said you wanted me to come with you to were Skiff worked." Lem nodded.

"There's something I have to show you."

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN:** Hey guys, I made it. The end of the week but I still made it. I had intended to update this a while back but the scene at the end of the chapter took a few rewrites and I wasn't entirely happy with it even now. But I'll let you make up your mind. If there's any gramma and spelling errors there mine alone because I'm always so excited to finish these chapters that I boot them out the door before I can properly check them. Any how, I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, Constructive Criticism wanted. Every bit helps._

* * *

"Here you go, buddy." Glemp Hoplog passed a beer to Quip Korplog. "Straight out of the ice box."

"Thanks," Quip said as he took the beer. The two were sitting down in the lunch room of the power plant, enjoying their break. They had taken off their helmets and had safely stowed their weapons before heading off to eat their lunch.

Glemp took a swig of his beer, and levelled a long hard look at his best friend. "What's eating you, Quip?" He asked. "All morning you've been rather silent. Like you've just been handed a divorce or something." He paused, then leaned in close. "It's not a...?"

"No, no," Quip waved it away. "The wife and I are fine." He said. "It's just..." He sighed again in irritation. "I don't know how to say it."

"Try me." Glemp said. "Look, Quip, we've been friends for twenty four years now. We went through the battlefields of the Great War together, we watched each others backs. We moved to the same town together so we could be close. There's nothing I won't be surprised at."

Quip was silent even longer this time. "I can trust you with anything, right Glemp?" He asked.

"Of cause you can, buddy." Glemp laughed. "Hey, do you remember that time during the first year of the war, when we had that Rings awful slop for food? Remember how you went and dumped the whole lot in the commandants personal hut? You never got caught because I kept that secret." Quip chuckled in remembrance of that prank. "Come on and just tell me what's eating you, Quip." Glemp said. "I promise, as your best friend, what you say won't leave between the two of us."

Quip looked over at his friend, and then levelled a long hard look at him. "What would you say, if I told you that I believe my son is hiding the alien."

For a second, there wasn't any sound, then Glemp burst out laughing. "By the rings, that's a good one, buddy." He slapped Quip hard on the back. "My, you really had me going there..." His voice trailed off as he saw the serious expression on Quip's face. "You're not joking, aren't you." Quip shook his head. "Pit, that's... That's really... Wow." Glemp now looked stunned. "Have you told anyone about this?"

"You're the first," Quip said.

"Wow," Glemp said again. Then turned to Quip. "I honestly don't know what to say."

* * *

Lem didn't have to wait long. Neera was finished and out the door not long after his talk with Kipple had ended. She was still wearing her uniform when she emerged from the back entrance.

"So what is it you wanted to show me at Haglog's comics?" Neera asked. Like himself, she didn't have much of an opinion of Skiff. A while back, when both Neera and Lem were in junior high, and Skiff was still in high school, she'd gone to the VR Club room to see if they could help her with a project of her own.

She arrived just in time to see Skiff and what few friends he had, recording a 'What to do In case' movie about alien abduction and probing, which interestingly involved sticking a cork where the sun don't shine. Neera had the unfortunate timing to walk in just as he was demonstrating how to operate the cork.

She'd gotten angry and explained that what they were doing was a total disregard for a serious profession by using it for unnecessary idiocy. Skiff had explained that what he was doing had it's merits and that it was perfectly fine for his project. Neera had explained that this equipment was the finest money could buy and that the money did not wish to buy images of an idiot stuffing a cork up his you-know-what. Skiff had explained that aliens were in fact real and anyone who didn't prepare for the eventual invasion was a fool. Neera had explained that she got weirder things than him in her breakfast cereal for free and that she didn't need to put up with it twice in one day. Skiff had explained that she should just shove off because the VR Club was no place for a girl. And Neera had explained that the object rapidly approaching him from the left was a knuckle sandwich.

After the explanations had been concluded, she left and never returned. She still had a powerful distaste of the VR Club, long after Skiff graduated high school.

"Don't worry, it's nothing that can harm you." Lem assured her. "Well, I'm not sure about Skiff, but what I want to show you can't harm you."

"You mean you're actually hanging out with Skiff?"

"Yeah, well not really, I mean... it's a long story." Lem answered.

"Well, we can talk about it on the way over," Neera said, looking over her shoulder and the rear exit for the building. "Let's get out of here before my boss tries to beg me into doing another shift." They both hurried off down the street.

"It must be something serious if it requires you hanging out with Skiff." She rolled her eyes. "I mean, when the guy was still in school, he managed to single handedly alienate nearly everyone there, and as achievements go, that's got to be worthy of some kind of award."

"Yeah," Lem said with a slight chuckle. "That guy can be a cancer of societies backside, but it wasn't my idea to go to Skiff. It was Eckle's." Lem stopped talking as two soldiers marched past. "I'll explain once we get there."

It didn't take the two long to reach the comic shop. When they got there, they saw that the window shutters to the shop were down, obscuring the view inside. Lem didn't have time to think about this, as he saw that standing outside the shop was Skiff. He looked rather dejected. Lem smiled. He wondered if Skiff was here to apologise. However, as they drew closer, he saw that Skiff had some sort of ice pack strapped to his posterior.

"What happened to you?" Lem asked.

"You could've told me about that damn robot's defence systems." Skiff muttered. It was then that Skiff saw Neera, and he realised his mistake. Then he did a double take as he realised who it was.

"What?" Lem asked.

"What robot?" Neera asked.

"Neera," Lem said, taking her arm. "This is what I want to show you."

"You have the alien." Lem's double take was even greater than Skiff's.

"How...? How did you-!?"

"Well, when Skiff said robot, it clicked." Neera responded with a shrug. "I mean, before you dragged me over here, you said you wanted to show me something, and you did stress the importance that it wouldn't be harmful to me. Plus you were really nervous about it and quite around soldiers, and then when Skiff talked about a robot... It doesn't take a genius to put those puzzle pieces together."

"Wow," Skiff muttered. "You're pretty smart for a girl." Neera just rolled her eyes.

"Coming from a guy who sticks corks up his butt, and records it for posterity, I really don't see the need to point out the which one of us has all of our neurons firing." She looked at the ice pack. "Still at it I see."

Skiff sighed. "No," he muttered, then turned to Lem. "After you left, I set about conducting my own examination of the robot." He paused. "Were you aware that it has a retractable arm?" Lem shook his head. "Well, it dose, and that's not all it has. It would seem that the arm is infused with a defence mechanism as well."

"What did you do to provoke it?" Lem asked.

"All I did was I asked Chuck if I could take a look at his robot. He agreed, and so I picked it up and flipped it over to get a better look at it's wheel systems." He paused again. A lot longer this time. "It started squealing, and that's when the arm came out. It would seem that it's capable of inducing some sort of electric shock that like getting kicked by a horse." He looked down at the ice pack. "It also caused me to, ummm..." He trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

Just then, Eckle came around the corner, carrying a mop and wearing a gas mask, which he removed to show a haggard expression. "Well, I finally got floor cleaned up..." He to trailed off when he saw Neera, and then Lem. "Oh, hey Neera, what are you doing here?"

"She knows about Chuck," Lem said.

"It's name is Chuck?" Neera asked.

"Him." Lem corrected.

"How do you know it's a HIM?" Neera asked. "He could very well be a SHE, you know."

"Oh, Chuck's a He." He paused. "Or at least I think it's a he." His mind flipped back to the bathroom incident. "Come to think of it..."

"You mean all this time you've had the alien you've never bothered to check if it's a boy or girl?"

"Well," Lem shrugged in defence. "I just assumed Chuck was a he."

"Can I see him? Or her? Or what ever it is?" Neera asked a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Sure, come on." He stopped, and then turned to Eckle. "Where's Chuck right now?"

"In the shop." Eckle said, pointing to the windows. Lem nodded. So that's why the shutters were down. Lem started to take Neera around the back when Eckle stopped him.

"You have to go in through the front," he said. "Skiff, kinda had an accident while he was playing with Rover." Lem looked at Skiff's ice pack, then at the gas mask and mop in Eckle's hands.

"Rover?" Neera asked. "Is that the robot's name?"

"You're really twigged on," Lem said with a smile. "Makes me wish I'd gone to you first." Skiff just harrumphed. Lem turned a suspicious eye to Skiff. "Are you jealous?" He teased with a giant grin.

"Let's just go inside." Skiff muttered.

Chuck was waiting inside, leaning against the shop counter. He turned as the group walked in. Lem saw him give a muffled version of that rapid fire barking sound humans made when they were laughing as Skiff walked in. Lem couldn't help but smile too.

"So that's Chuck." Neera whispered in awe. Chuck turned at the sound of Neera's voice and blinked. Then he pointed.

"Who Female?" He said.

"He knows our language?"

"I taught it to him," Lem said with pride.

"Why is it so halting?"

"He has a lot of trouble with big words," Lem explained. "So we can only communicate with basic words and sentences. Oh, and his species is called, Human."

Neera nodded, and then turned to face Chuck. "Hey, Chuck, are you a guy or a girl?" The human blinked.

"No understand." He shook his head. "Say again?"

"Remember, basic words and sentences. You have to be very simple with your words." Lem said. He then turned to Chuck, and asked, "Chuck. Is Chuck female?" Chuck blinked back at him, then burst out laughing. They had to wait a while before he calmed down.

"Chuck male," he said, whipping away tears from his eyes. "Long time, Lem, Eckle, Skiff, know not Chuck male?" Nobody answered. "Chuck know Lem, Eckle, Skiff male." Chuck turned to look at Neera. "Chuck know female."

"How?" Lem asked. Chuck pointed back to the storage room which was closed.

"Entertainment." He said. "TV. Skiff show Chuck TV. See male people, female people." He tapped the fur on his head. "Chuck understand."

"Wow," Neera interrupted. "This is incredible." She approached Chuck who kept an eye on her all the same. "Actual intelligent alien life. And it's friendly." She reached out a hand to Chuck's face. Chuck didn't move. "May I touch?" She asked slowly. Chuck frowned, but slowly nodded his head.

Neera let a single finger touched Chuck's cheek. She then let all three fingers and then her thumb feel the side of his face. "It feels soft soft, and warm." She commented. Her fingers then moved, down tracing the bottom of his jaw, travelling up the other side of his check to brush his ear. Finally, her fingers moved to the fur just above the ears and briefly stroked it. She then slowly pulled her hand away.

"So, what do you think?" Lem asked.

"Wow," Neera said again. "I just touched a real live alien. It felt so weird. So hot, and so soft. And his fur. So weird."

"That's because Chuck's a mammal." Lem said.

She grinned as she turned to face Lem. "Lem this is beyond incredible, it's fantastic! Do you realise what this is? You've made first contact! Peaceful first contact! You'll be famous! You'll go down in history!"

"Wait, wait, slow down," Lem said. "You're thinking too fast Neera. I can't just parade Chuck around like some animal."

"You don't need to." Neera replied. "You need a way of letting the whole world know that Chuck is harmless. Can't you see Lem? This could get you back in the good books with the entire town!" Her hands moved like she were framing headlines. "Lem Korplog makes First Contact!" She grabbed both his arms in excitement. "Can't you see? This is exactly the event that could give you a clean slate!"

Lem was stunned. The implications that Neera were talking about rushed through his mind, too fast for him to keep up with. "I plan to do that, Neera," Lem said, "but not right now."

"Why?" Neera looked confused.

"We can't just shove Chuck out into the spot light, we need a plan."

"So, what is it?"

"Well," Lem found he couldn't answer that. His original plan had been to teach Chuck enough of their language to hold a conversation, then shove him into the spot light with himself bringing up the rear, but way too many things had happened between then and now. In that time, he'd actually grown closer to Chuck. He'd come to see the human as something more than just a meal ticket. Sure he wanted the whole world to know about Chuck, but it had to be done right. "I want the whole world to know about Chuck," he said, "But it has to be done right."

"What you do?" All heads turned to face Chuck. He was stalking over to Lem. His face wrinkled into an angry expression. "What this plan, Lem? What you plan for I? Give I to Army?"

"Chuck," Lem said, patting his arm smoothly. "Calm down. I NOT give Chuck to Army."

Chuck jabbed a finger in Neera's direction. "What Neera say? She say, Lem show Chuck to people to get what?" He leaned in closer, his lips pealed back slightly from his mouth, exposing his teeth. "You make deal! Make deal, for Lem. Give Chuck to people for good deal?" He jabbed Lem in the chest with a finger that actually knocked him backwards. "What you do?"

"I saved your miserable skin. That's what I did." Lem said, rubbing the spot where Chuck had jabbed him. The human had forgotten he was stronger than people. "I'm making no deal with anyone! Not right now! But I will have too, if you want to have a chance of leaving our world." He paused and continued. "Lem no make deal, now! Make deal later. Good deal for Chuck."

Chuck just gleared back at him, not even blinking. "I meet Lem, before. Lem teach Chuck people talk. Lem wait to trade Chuck for good deal!" It wasn't a question. Lem gave a sharp intake of breath. He couldn't help it. Chuck must have known enough about people's facial expressions that he picked up on it. "Chuck right!" He snapped. "Lem just want Chuck for good deal for Lem!" He leaned back and sighed. "I wrong. Lem not good. Lem bad."

That stung, and made Lem stagger. But he quickly regained his posture. This wasn't going to be like old times. He wasn't going to stand here and take it.

"Oh come on, Chuck! What did you think? Did you honestly think that I would be the only native who'd try to get famous on you? Did you think that you can just travel all over the world without everyone who sees you having the same thoughts?" Lem cried out. Chuck turned to walk away. "Chuck, listen!" Lem snapped. Chuck stopped back kept his back to Lem. "Chuck misunderstand! Misunderstand whole deal! Yes, Lem make deal when Lem and Chuck meet. Yes, I make deal; trade for good deal. Time, long time go. I see Chuck. See Chuck, friend. Chuck and Lem, friends. Lem change deal. No trade Chuck for good deal. Understand? Chuck, Lem's friend."

"Chuck know not, trust Lem." Chuck said.

"We MUST make deal, Chuck." Lem said. "When many people's and many Humans meet. Humans need way of talk. Chuck help humans talk to people? That deal Lem make." Chuck seemed to be thinking about this.

"What deal Lem make?" Chuck asked.

"Lem show Chuck to people. Show to good people. Good people no trade Chuck for good deal. Good people want talk to Chuck; To humans." Chuck said something in his own language. "No understand," Lem said. "What say you?"

"Lem right," he said. "Chuck talk to people. Help people talk to humans." Lem smiled and reached out to give Chuck a reassuring pat; But Chuck stopped him. Lem was confused, but even more taken aback when Chuck held out his hand.

"What?" Lem asked.

"Hello." Chuck said. "Humans do hello with humans." He then added a human word. "Again, humans do with humans when make good deal. Lem and Chuck, make good deal. Both."

Lem reached out his hand, exactly like Chucks, and held it in a mirror fashion. He was about to ask Chuck what to do next when Chuck moved his hand forward, and clasped it around Lem's in a grip that was tight, but not painful. He shook it once, then let go.

"What was that all about?" Eckle asked.

"I believe that's a form of greeting," Skiff answered. He gave a thoughtful look. "And a way of sealing a deal."

"I think you're right," Neera said. "But... both mean the same thing? How do you know which is which?"

Chuck looked confused. "How people do hello with people?" He asked. Everyone present gave the universal greeting that every person knew. They held up their left hand, palm out and fingers and thumb spread wide. This was an old gesture when people were primitive. It was a way to show the other person that you carried no weapon. The reason it was done with the Left Hand, was that the majority of people were left handed. Chuck repeated the gesture, then looked at his own hand. He suddenly grinned and locked all four of his fingers together. He then parted them down the middle, two on each side so it looked like his hand only had two fingers and a thumb. As he did this, he muttered something in human; then started laughing.

"What funny Chuck?" Eckle asked.

"Entertainment. Old human entertainment." He said. "Humans understand funny. People not understand funny."

"I think he just told a joke." Neera said.

"Again," Chuck said. "How people seal deal?" Neera held up her hand and crossed the first two fingers, showing the universal sign of showing that you have accepted the offer being made.

"So," Eckle asked. "What are we going to do about Chuck?" All eyes turned to Lem.

"Okay, so we want the whole world to know that Chuck is harmless, right?" They all nodded. "The question is, who do we approach first?"

"What about that reporter guy from the bowlarama?" Neera asked. Lem fished the card out of his shirt pocket. He flipped the card between his thumbs in thought.

"It could be a possibility," Lem said, "But he might go after glory for himself at Chuck''s expense." He turned to the others. "We need to do this right. We have to look at all the options, not just the obvious ones. Any other suggestions? We'll explore all our options and discuss the pros and cons."

"We could always talk to the government." Eckle said.

"How?" Skiff asked. "Are there any government representatives in town? If so, where are they staying?"

"Why can't we trust the Army?" Neera asked.

"No, no trust army!" Chuck said. "Army bad!" Lem nodded. So, Chuck could follow small bits of the conversation. He also though back to their hasty escape from the Planetarium. He remembered his rushed explanation of the Army back then, and wondered if Chuck had misinterpreted what the Army was. Then he paused. If Chuck could follow bits and pieces of conversation, and even whole sentences, what else had he been following?

"Chuck," it was Neera who spoke. "Army not bad. Good. Army DEFEND people from bad people."

"Defend?" Chuck asked. Then he realised the meaning of the word. "Army defend people from aliens. Chuck see on movie. Skiff say yes. Aliens attack people. Army defend people. Army kill aliens."

So Chuck knew what the army was. All those movies must have clarified it for Chuck.

"Army kill bad aliens. Chuck good alien. Army no kill Chuck." Lem insisted.

Chuck opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He seemed to be contemplating something. Instead of saying anything, he just folded his arms and leaned back, as if inviting the group to continue with their discussion. Lem frowned. Why did he suddenly drop out of the conversation like that?

"Hey Lem?" He turned to face Eckle. "Why don't you approach that scientist guy you like so much."

"Professor Kipple?" Lem put a finger to his lips in thought.

"Whoa!" Skiff interrupted. "Are you telling me that Professor Kipple, THE Professor Kipple is in town?"

"Of cause," Eckle said. "He came around to our house the other night."

"And he also was at the bowlarama," Neera added. "He offered Lem a chance to work with him."

"Professor Kipple is in MY town and I didn't know about it?" Skiff whined. Suddenly he looked ill as he turned to face Lem. "And he asked YOU to work with him?"

"Yeah, but, you like Professor Kipple too?"

"Of cause!" Skiff snapped. "That man is a genius! The majority of all my scientific facts are based off his works."

"Which ones?" Lem asked, his antenni wiggled in curiosity.

"Life, the Universe, and Everything. Other Worlds. Beyond the Rings. Aliens. Encyclopedia Galactica."

"My personal favourite was Beyond the Rings." Lem interrupted.

"Beyond the Rings had it's merits," Skiff said. "But Life, the Universe, and Everything was his true master piece."

"What?" Lem said. "He wrote that book in the beginning of his career. It's full of inconsistency. With his later work, which is by far superior due to his greater attention to detail in regards to the possibility of different atmosphere's effect on biological life."

"But it's that first book that really gives you a sense of wonder and imagination that really hooks you in. It's not rocket science, Lem. It's those first idea's and theories that add to the magic and wonder of alien life. Because it was the first of it's kind, it was, for me, an experience rather than a series of notes and ideas on a page. It's that reason the book remains a classic and a shining example of his best work. Pit, it's the reason I started believing in aliens in the first place."

The two paused and looked at each other. No one spoke or moved. Then both Lem and Skiff burst out laughing.

"What... Just happened?" Eckle asked Neera. Neera shook her head in disbelief.

"I haven't a clue."

* * *

It was early afternoon when Kipple finally returned to the Korplog house. He was just finishing the remains of a sandwich of sorts as he strode down the driveway towards the house. General Grawl stood there, watching him as he came.

"Hello Professor," Grawl said. "How did it go."

"Splendid," he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "The boy fell head over heals for my offer, and agreed to help me with my research of the alien pod."

"But that's not your field of..."

"I know that," Kipple said, "But talking with the boy inside the alien pod about the alien will surly yield results." And with that, the Professor walked straight on past him. "How did your meeting with the Prime Alpha go?" He asked.

Grawl explained the whole meeting with the mayor and the Prime Alpha's suspicions. He then went on to explain the foreign situation, and the Foreign Affairs Alpha's request that he hurry it up.

"The Old World wasn't built in a day, General." Kipple answered. "This is a delicate situation here. We only have one toy to work with. We push too hard and we break it. No receipt, no return."

"Then you can explain that equation to the Council of Thirteen." Grawl said. He was getting sick and tired of being the middle man.

"Fine," Kipple said, opening the front door. "I'll be on the phone. Be a help would you and get the line secure for me?" And he was gone.

Grawl just blew out a sharp gust of air and walked away to find the communications team in the garage. After he organised the security he sent a soldier off to inform Kipple and marched back outside.

The alien pod still stood were it was. A heavy moving truck was parked across two front yards, having demolished the fences between them. The plan to have the pod moved had been scrapped when foreign situation started heating up. The Foreign Affairs Alpha had been banging around the suggestion of inviting some key diplomats over and examining the pod for themselves. That would led to other problems as well.

They would then demand that their own experts be allowed to tramp all over the sight, to get final, undeniable proof that this was real and not an excuse to flaunt their military muscle.

And then there would be the interesting scenario once they actually had the alien. Every man and his dog would want to talk to it. The Southern Alliance would demand access to it, as well as access for their own experts as well. Grawl rolled his eyes. Everyone who got their hands on it would have plans for this creature, of one kind and another. He had his own plans. Perhaps it knew that, and that was the real reason it was reluctant to come out from hiding. Maybe the kid was being forced by the alien to keep it's location hidden.

Not that it mattered, they had a 99 percent accurate idea on where the alien was hiding. The tails who followed that Korplog kid said that he visited a comic book shop and stayed there for most of the day. An alien hiding in a comic shop. One side of Grawl's mouth rose slightly at the humour of that situation.

If worse came to worse, they'd know where to go. The tails would keep an eye out on the place, just to keep tabs on the alien, and to make sure that the alien didn't get any unwanted visitors.

"General Grawl?" He turned to see a man standing on the front lawn wearing a white buttoned up shirt, a brown leather jacket and a battered fedora hat. He wore no ID Tag around his neck.

"And you are?"

"Ma'han." The man answered, then pulled back the left side of his jacket to reveal a gold star with rings around the middle. Grawl nodded. He was a Commonwealth Ranger.

"Welcome sir," Grawl said. "I didn't expect you to get here so fast."

"We're trained to be everywhere, General," Ma'han answered. "But there were already a good number of us in the town before the alien landed." He gave a conspiratorial nod, to which the General responded. No need to talk about military secrets out in the open.

"Is there anything my people can do for your people?" Grawl asked.

Ma'han shook his head. "No, I've got my best men on the situation already. We received word from the Prime Alpha this morning after your meeting with him. I would ask your men to leave mine alone, but that would mean reviling who they are to everyone and, well no offence General, I just don't trust your men."

"None taken." Grawl answered. "But we have to work out some sort of coordination to prevent our two operations from clashing. Can I have at least some idea of your operational area? That way I can keep my men away from yours."

Ma'han thought about this. "At the moment, we're stalking the Mayor, his house and the house of Krump's." Grawl raised an eye brow. The Krump's were the richest family in town. Mr Krump had originally tried to leave by plane but the Army had commandeered the whole air port for their operations so he couldn't leave. The Mayor had eventually managed to convince him to stay behind to help with the economic situation.

"The Krump's?" He asked.

"Yeah," Ma'han answered. "Mr Krump has been spending a lot of time around the Mayor. That makes him a suspect. Even if he turns out to be innocent, we have to follow all potential leads."

"Fine," Grawl replied. "I'll make sure the patrols stay away from those areas."

Ma'han turned to look over at the pod. "How's your own operation going?"

"Complicated." Grawl answered. He looked around. "Shall we go inside?" He gave the same nod that told the Ranger, let's not discus this out in the open. Ma'han nodded, and the two walked inside.

* * *

"Are you sure it was wise to leave Chuck all alone?" Skiff asked.

"I've left him alone by himself all night before," Lem answered. "He'll be fine, plus you're not spending the night, remember?" Skiff nodded.

Lem, Skiff, Eckle and Neera all climbed out of Skiff's car and headed up the drive up to the front door of the Korplogs temporary home. Now that they were with other company all talk about Chuck would have to cease. They still hadn't agreed on who to approach in regards for Chuck to make contact with. Lem and Skiff had helped in that. After finding out that they both worshipped the same hero, the topic of the conversation had skewed off to talk about which were the best theories of Kipple's and why. Why that idea was wrong, and what would be discussed in his up coming book. By the time Neera had managed to gain some control over the two fan boys, it was getting late in the afternoon. Nothing had been decided upon, so they agreed to pick up where they left off the next day.

Then Lem remembered that he was to work with Kipple. So they agreed to go back to the Korplog's temporary house and discuss it there. And have some dinner too. Lem had told Chuck that he would be exploring the inside of his pod and asked him if there was anything form inside he wanted. What Chuck had wanted turned out to be untranslatable, and Chuck had eventually given up in frustration. But he had warned Lem to stay away from something with a yellow and black symbol on it that had three lines with a dot in the middle.

Lem opened the door and called out a greeting to his mother. "Oh, hi boys," their mother chimed from the kitchen as she put down what she was doing. "Dinners just about ready..." She paused as she came out to get her two sons. "Skiff? Neera?"

"I hope you don't mind, mom," Lem said, "I invited them over for dinner."

"Not at all," his mother replied, a little taken aback. "Hello Neera." She said.

"Hello Miss Korplog." Neera said. Lem's mother blinked a few more times, then went back into the kitchen.

"Well, well, well." Lem's dad said as he walked into the front parlor. "Hello Neera."

"Hello Mr. Korplog." Neera said. He looked from Neera to Lem, and back again.

"Son," he said turning to Lem. "Can we have a talk? A little father and son discussion?"

"Sure thing dad." Lem said.

"Out in the garage." He said. Lem nodded and excused himself from the group. Lem's mother came out with drinks to ocupy the gang as Lem and his dad headed into the garage. His father closed the door behind him, and made sure no one could hear.

"Dad," Lem said as his father turned to face him. "Before you ask, Neera and I have been friends for a long time in school. No we haven't gone on any dates, and no we haven't done THAT yet."

"Huh?" His father was caught off guard. "Oh, no, not that." He said. "I've known about that for a year now."

Lem looked shocked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I'll get to that soon, but there's something else I need to talk to you about, son."

"What?" Lem asked.

His father took a deep breath, and said, "I know you're hiding the alien."

The sentence came as a blow to Lem, who actually staggered. "W-what! How? When? Why?"

"Calm down!" His father held up both hands. "Have a seat over there." He pointed to a stool that stank of fresh paint. Lem sat down and took a few breaths, before looking up at his father.

"How long have..."

"Since last night, when the General left." He said. He sighed and looked his son square in the eye. "I never really believed that you were smoking Lem that day in the Planetarium." He said. "The whole excuse seemed rather contrived." He paused. "That and there wasn't any lingering smell." Lem mentally kicked himself.

"Wait! If you knew, then why didn't you say anything back then?"

"Well, I guess I'm to blame for that." He answered. "I've been disappointed with you for so long, I guess I just accepted your explanation. A gut reaction you might say." He paused. "I began to think more and more about that. Why were lying about smoking in the office. That's when I realised you didn't want me to go in there. Why? And when I did go in there, there was nothing. That really confused me. So I just accepted your answer." Lem just nodded lamely. "I couldn't put my finger on it, until the General visited us last night. That's when it finally clicked." He shook his head in wonder. "But I never would've guessed that you were hiding the alien in there."

"Wait!" Lem said. "Why did you cover for me?"

"You're my son, Lem." He said. "My son! My first born. If I'd turned you over that would've been the final end. No more second chances. It would've killed your mother; And me." Lem just blinked in shock. "Plus when the General flatly stated the alien was harmless, I was able to put two and two together and work out if the alien was a true menace then you AND I wouldn't be standing here discussing this."

"No, he's not." Lem said. His father blinked in surprise and did his own double take.

"Whoa!" He gasped. Lem gave him a suspicious look. "Don't panic," he said. "It's just, I mean hearing it from your own mouth, it's one thing to suspect, but it another to have it confirmed."

"You knew all this time." Lem said. "Why are you only bringing this up now?"

"Because I didn't know how to handle it." He said. "You know how your mother worries. She hates surprises." Lem nodded. "I thought if I just left it alone, it'd all go away. I don't know how but if I just ignored it..." He trailed off. "Look Lem," he said finally. "I've never been able to say this, but, I love you. You're my son and I love you. And when you finally started to turn your life around, I was foolish and didn't recognise it. Because I had been disappointed for such a long time I believed it wouldn't last long." He propped himself up against the wall. "Now, now I've realised my mistake. I'm being too biased against you. Believing that your nothing but the same old embarrassing trouble maker you've been in the past."

"Dad?" Lem asked.

"Let me finish." His father said. "Lem, I'm sorry I've never been a good father to you. I'm sorry I was never there to help you in the past, because I've been too angry. I should've been there for you, but I never was. I'm sorry I never acknowledged your turn around and your acceptance to the Planetarium, which was your dream. I'm sorry for giving all my attention to Eckle and treating you like an embarrassment."

"Why?" Lem asked, his voice on the verg of tears. "Why where you never there for me?"

"Because of my upbringing." His father said. "I never got a chance to live a normal life. When I graduated school, the Great War began and I was drafted into the army. I had discipline beaten into me through being yelled at a lot. Then when I went into combat..." He shuddered. "Do you know what it's like to kill a man? Pull a trigger and watch his brains explode out the back of his head? Walk past a man you thought was dead only to have someone behind you discover the hard way that he was waiting there with a grenade, and you realise how close you were to losing your own life?"

"This is the first time you've really told me about your experience in the war." Lem muttered.

"Us veterans don't like to talk about it, not even to each other. When we do meet, even at company reunions, we always talk about our home and work lives and just nod and smile to each other and thank the Rings we're here." He sighed. "I'm sorry, I got a bit off tangent there. The point I'm trying laboriously to get to, is my experience drilled into me you only get once chance in life. You screw up once, you never lived to learn from that mistake. You learnt by watching the other guy make the mistake and prey it's not you the next time." When he sighed this time, he sounded old, beyond his years. "I was never there for you, because every time I watched you screw up, it reminded me of those who didn't make it through. Veterans of the war tried not to get close to new fish, people who were stupid because they weren't going to be around for long, or they could get you killed too. That takes a long time to rub off, Lem."

"I'm not going to get killed, Dad." Lem said.

"I know," he said, a few tears appeared in his eyes. "I hated myself for not being there for you. I should've but I wasn't because it was my own fault." He wiped his eyes. "Well, not any more. I'm going to ignore you any more Lem. You're my son, and by the Rings, I'm going to BE there for you, right here, right now."

"Dad," Lem whimpered. "I love you Dad." He walked up to his father and for the first time in a long time, he hugged him.

"I love you too, son." He said, returning the hug. For a while, they both stood there, hugging each other. Finally, his father asked, "So, this alien."

"His name is Chuck." Lem said, disengaging from his father.

"It's a he?" Lem smiled.

"Oh, it's a he," he chuckled. "I've been through this with Neera."

"Neera knows about it, too?" He he looked thoughtful. "Skiff and Eckle as well?" Lem nodded.

"So, what are you going to do?" He asked.

"I don't know yet," Lem said. "Chuck wants to make contact with us. Peaceful contact. The only problem is who to talk too first. Chuck's worried about the army, and..."

"Hey, I've got an idea." His father said. Lem turned to looked at him.

**TBC...**


End file.
